Tom Rothery docked his Polaris Supreme June 30 after a five-day Wagstaff/Beck trip with 24 anglers. The Supreme docked at Fisherman’s Landing and skipper Rothery weighed the best of the catch.

His last report came Sunday, June 28. It read, “The morning started off with great fishing on the nicer 30-pound-plus yellows. In the afternoon it was really wide open on the 16 to 18-pounders. Justin also landed a nice halibut. And still, our weather is absolutely gorgeous.”

Phil Dudley of Huntington Beach won first place for a 38.2-pound yellowtail. It bit a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Mustad hook tied to 50-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Izorline Spectra. He fished with a Penn Baja Special reel and a Pacifica six-foot rod.

“He pulled hard,” commented Dudley. “They got big shoulders.”

Mike Wintjen of Long Beach was second, for a 36.8-pound yellowtail. He said it fought for 20 minutes.

Mike's dad Norm Wintjen of San Pedro won third place for a 36-pound ‘tail, and Paul Fernandez of Orange was the lucky angler with a 31-pound halibut, which he brought into the lineup.

“We had a good day fishing once again here at the Rock,” said the Intrepid’s report for June 29.

“The tuna were not as numerous as last trip, but the quality is the same. We also had a very good day of yellowtail fishing with many choosing to release their yellows. It is so good to see that there are people who wish to preserve fishing for future generations. Everyone tagged a few and kept the standouts, but released anything on the smaller side of the scale.

“Our weather is good and we are going to stay here for at least another day. Pictured with the yellowtail is Peter Thomson, a first-time long ranger, and he wishes to say Happy Birthday to Stef. Also pictured is Mike Shirer and one of the nice tuna he caught today."

“It was another wonderful day here at Cedros Island,” read the Shogun report for June 29. “The fishing was never wide open, but steady throughout the day with one to six fish on the end of the line all the time.

“First thing, before pulling anchor, the premium grade yellows made a showing, dropper loops with mackerel were the rigs of choice. After that it was out to deeper water to find schools of roaming school-grade fish, which today made up the majority of our catch.

"What was exciting today was to watch ten to fifteen yellowtail follow surface iron to the boat before one would race out from the pack and annihilate the 7X! What a show! This didn't just happen once, but many times during the day.

“Two white sea bass were also landed by Bob Kasaki (35-pounder) and Steve Hernandez (20-pounder). This morning’s weather was warm with hardly a breeze, so common to the South End and the Keller Canal; by afternoon we had a steady fifteen knots and lots of white caps. Also pictured with a premium yellowtail is Bryce Young and his father Roger.”

“Our first day of fishing was a success,” said the Excel’s report for June 29, “with 52 tuna and 44 yellowtail going into the RSW well. We even caught a 50-pound bigeye tuna. Most of the tuna were in the 40 to 60-pound class with a few bigger and a few smaller.

“The grade of the yellows was nice, too. The hot sticks today were Jan Howard and Steve Alexander, who seemed like they were hooked up all day. We will stay the night on the anchor and do it all again tomorrow.”

If Ray Lopez was a racehorse we’d say he broke his maiden, because he came back from his first trip as master of the American Angler as a winner. Ray docked the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing June 29, after an excellent yellowtail trip (listed as the Shaker Tour) with 25 anglers to Cedros Island.

“We had pretty steady action in the lee of the island,” Ray told dock reporter Bill Roecker at the landing scales. “We got near-limits of yellowtail. The most common rig was 40-pound line with the yoyo or the surface jig or a flylined sardine. The 7X jig was best in blue and white or scrambled eggs color.”

A smattering of tuna, albacore and bluefin, was encountered on the trip. The best bluefin was a 41-pounder taken while the boat was drifting near the kelp on the windward side of the island, a very unusual place to encounter such a tuna.

Brad Arnold of Lincoln caught it, but it wasn’t jackpot eligible, so he was invited to pose in the jackpot lineup as honorable mention. He said it was fooled with a sardine on 40-pound line.

Bill Randall of Foothill won first place for a 38.8-pound yellowtail.

“It took about 15 minutes,” he recalled. “I also got a big one with a swimbait.”

Bill said he baited a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad 9174 hook on 30-pound Maxima fluorocarbon leader and 50-pound Izorline Spectra backing on an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 670 rod.

Jack Purtell of Yorba Linda won second place for a 37-pound yellow, and Paul Pangburn got third place for a 34.8-pound ‘tail.

Two ladies fishing aboard the Angler also got big yellowtail. Melanie Kito of San Diego bagged a 33-pounder, and Monique Dixon of Yreka found a 29.6-pound yellowtail.

Jack Purtell took his 15-year-old son Andrew on the trip for his first outing of the long range sort, and the pair posed with their best fish. Andrew goes to Esperanza High in Anaheim, where he wrestles in the 140-pound bracket. He wrestled up a nice big yellow on this trip.

This was reported Saturday, June 27: “We hunted around all morning for the big yellows we got last night but none were to be found. Midday we decided to bail out and go look for some of the smaller grade 12 to 15-pounders and we got into them good until dark. What started out slow turned out to be fantastic. Tomorrow we will be back looking for the bigger grade. Our weather, companionship, and food are great and everyone is having fun.”

“We had a great day yesterday,” wrote Andy Cates June 29, “and are staying at the Rocks again today. We managed two fish over 100 pounds and all other fish were 30 to 60 pounds. We’re catching pretty much the same fish as the last trip. Great action.”

“We saw good sign of tuna at Alijos,” remarked Excel skipper Justin Fleck at Fisherman’s Landing June 27, “and we caught near-limits for our two days there.

“Then we tried The Ridge, and had outstanding yellowtail fishing there. Then we went up to Cedros and had a bass tournament. Bassing for calicos was excellent, and we got a couple of white seabass and also some halibut farther up the line.”

Mike Springer of San Marcos won first place in the jackpot for a 64.2-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he fished a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Gamakatsu hook, and used 50-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 80-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet HX-2 reel and a six-foot Fenwick rod.

Steve Meinster of Van Nuys was second, for a 63.8-pounder, and Jeffery Lenz of Huntington Beach won third place for a 59.4-pound yellowfin tuna. Matt Towner of Azusa fooled a 56-pound yellowtail with a Tady 4/0 jig in purple, chrome and glow, on 50-pound line.

The big fish contest among BloodyDecks.com members aboard the Red Rooster III and the Intrepid is over. Intrepid won, at least as far as tuna were concerned. Eight fish over 100 pounds were weighed at the Pt. Loma Sportfishing dock June 27 by skipper Kevin Osborne when the boat returned from an eight-day BloodyDecks.com/Seeker Rods trip with 22 anglers aboard.

Seeker rep Dave Archibald of El Cajon won first place for a 139-pound tuna he got at Alijos Rocks, along with a 119-pound yellowfin.

“He hit like a train on the pickup,” commented Dave, who spent an hour getting to know his fish while it was still in the water. “Then he took me around the boat before we spent the rest of the fight in the port corner.”

Bloody Decks co-chartermaster Len Layman of Scottsdale, AZ won second place for a 131.8-pound tuna.

“My best ever,” he said of the fish, which pounded him for 25 minutes on his Super Seeker 6480 rod. He got the fish with 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader.

Les Harrell of Mesa, AZ also baited a sardine on 40-pound line, and came up with a third-place tuna of 131.2 pounds. That fish tweaked him for an hour and a half.

Skipper Osborne was up early one morn. Trying to convince his anglers to attempt some deep jigging, he had an immediate connection with a 57.2-pound amberjack. The big jack swallowed a Salas 6X Jr. jig in scrambled eggs motif.

“The water’s up to 68 degrees,” commented Captain Kevin. “It was a waiting game for us. Patience paid off, and they came to us in the late afternoons.”

Skipper Joe Crisci brought Qualifier 105 home to Pt. Loma Sportfishing June 27 after a seven-day trip with 32 anglers. Bobby Gowin of Glenn’s Tackle in Costa Mesa was the chartermaster.

“We had good people, and they worked their butts off,” said Bobby to dock reporter Bill Roecker. “We hit the upper Ridge and really knocked the yellowtail. They averaged 25 pounds, but there were many that were larger.”

Crisci agreed. “It was scratchy at The Rocks,” he said. “We only stayed there one day. But fishing was great on The Ridge. The water’s 63.5 to 64.5 degrees there.”

Many of the best fish at Alijos came on the kite. Since there was a complete rotation, kite-caught fish were allowed in the jackpot.
The best tuna weighed 100.2 pounds, caught by George Morales of Corona. He said he bagged it in 20 minutes on the boat’s kite rig after it engulfed a “double trouble” sardine setup.

Ron Reid of Lakewood won second place for an 86.4-pound tuna, and Bill Cook won third place for his 66.8-pounder on 30-pound line.
Dale Pike of San Diego caught a 44-pound yellowtail on a blue and white Salas 7X and 40-pound line. He took his 16-year-old son Alex along. It was the boy’s first long range trip. Alex nabbed a 38-pound yellowtail, and posed with his proud dad.

Talking with old-time skipper Steve Loomis June 27 about the movements of calico bass and white seabass produced some interesting information about fishing for calicos in water as deep as 57 fathoms, and how white seabass can come through an area big and thick at night, while the place is devoid of fish in the daytime.

“It’s a good thing the ocean is such a mystery,” noted Loomis, “or there wouldn’t be anything left.”

Roy Rose brought Royal Polaris home from the annual five-day family trip June 26. About half the 36 passengers were kids. Many of them caught the largest fish of their lives, yellowtail almost as long as the kids were tall.

The trip spent time at Cedros Island and also offshore, where a few albacore were caught along with a couple of the season’s best bluefin tuna. The boat had limits of yellowtail, and anglers aboard said the smaller fish caught first were nearly all on jigs, while a batch of big ones caught the next day on the other side of the island were nearly all on bait.

Mike Darakjian of San Clemente found an 81.4-pound bluefin tuna with a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He wrestled the first-place tuna for 30 minutes on 30-pound Seaguar flourocarbon leader and 30-pound blue Izorline, with a Penn 555 reel and a Calstar 870 rod.

Not seen is Kevin Wyman of Laguna Niguel, who got a 44.4-pound Cedros Mossback, which won second place in the adult jackpot.

Annie Vellonakis (daughter of well-known RP big tuna regular Stas) won third place for her 42-pound bluefin, decking it in 15 minutes after it took a sardine disguised with 35-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader.

The kids posed for a lineup shot with some of their best fish. I say some because some fish weren’t available for pictures, having gone to the processors. The kids grabbed what was still there for a top of the dock shot.

The annual Thom Hultgen Memorial eight-day trip aboard Red Rooster III returned to H&M Landing June 26 with chartermaster George Daniels. Several members of BloodyDecks.com were aboard, involved in a boat-to-boat contest with other members aboard Intrepid for the best fish. Winners will be known tomorrow when the other boat arrives.

“Another nice day of fishing with trophy size yellows,” reported Cates June 24, “and skiff runs for Calico Bass. We spent the day in various parts of the Island and everyone got a chance to fish from the little boats. The great yellowtail fishing was all done on the big boat. No yellows in the skiffs, although the bass fish was very good.”

The best fish on the Rooster wasn’t eligible for the jackpot. The 133-pound yellowfin tuna was caught by Rooster regular Hans Rueckert of Granada Hills on a sardine and a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu. Hans said he had 80-pound Spectra backing on a Trinidad 40 reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

“He almost killed me,” said Rueckert. “He fought for an hour on 40-pound Izorline and took me around the boat three times. I’m lucky I got no hair; I couldn’t lose any more.”

Dave Malmberg of Encinitas won the jackpot for a 61.6-pound yellowfin tuna. He said it came on a sardine and a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Spectra on an Avet JX reel and an unknown make of rod.

On his first long range trip, Chris Gault of Upland won second place for a 61.3-pound yellowfin.

Alec Robbie of San Clemente took third place for a 59.1-pound tuna that he got with a borrowed 870 Accurate reel and 40-pound Blackwater Fluoro.

“I did better than I’ve ever done,” said Alec to Bill Roecker at the scales. “I got my best yellowfin ever on the kite with a double sardine rig.”

Alec was on last year’s trip, and after that started a fishing club at his high school.

Chris Bush of Lakeside also in the photo with a 37.3-pound yellowtail.

“Great report Bill I was on the Legend the same time you were and your report and mine are almost the same. Boy was it a blast seeing those jumpers all day.” John Collis (by email June 25, 2009)

They Liked It, Too

“Bill, the girls and I wanted to tell you thanks for including us in your awesome article, you are a great journalist. It was quite a trip. We ended the trip with 106 pounds of filets, Mario (Sportsman's Seafood) did a nice job vacuum packing it in about an hour while we waited. We are about to grill our first batch tonight when friends come over. Thanks again for your company, if you ever make an appearance here at the Bass Pro Shops Rancho Cucamonga let me know. The girls would like to say hi." Steve Rodriguez, Alta Loma (by email June 25, 2009)

"Today we made a stop at Cedros Island," Excel skipper Justin Fleck reported June 25.

"We were able to fish the weather side due to calm seas. Calico bass fishing was outstanding on the surface irons and fish traps. Every patch of kelp we stopped on was loaded. We also managed to pull a couple nice croaker."

June 24th read: "Fishing for the past two days has been outstanding. Yellowtail fishing was unreal with great quality. At times they would get fired up and eat everything in the water. The tuna fishing has improved significantly too. We picked up 86 yellowfin today, all of them were 40 to 100 pounds."

"We had another good day here at the Rocks," Intrepid skipper Kevin Osborne reported June 24.

"We were able to keep one to three fish going all day. The difference today was that our evening flurry never came, so we pulled anchor and are headed up the line towards home. The weather report is good and our hopes are high for some more action on the albacore and maybe a few bluefin to round out the catch."

June 23rd read: "We had a GREAT day of fishing here at the Rocks! We landed many nice yellowfin and yellowtail throughout the day. Our morning started off with a good yellowtail bite with fish in the 20 to 40-pound range and lots of released fish under the 20-pound range as well. The yellows were biting the dropper loop, yo-yo iron and the flylined sardine. The bigger sized yellowfin made a good showing for us all day long. Most of the fish were between 40 to 50-pounds with a couple of handfuls of fish in the 70 to 110-pound range. We made it through the kite rotation three times today!"

Royal Star doesn’t make many trips of only a day and a half, so when the opportunity came for Paul Sweeney and I to step aboard for a shot at early season albacore and bluefin tuna, we got to the dock a couple of hours early. Nearly everyone was already aboard, including our skipper Brian Sims and his crew.

It seemed odd to pull away from the dock at seven in the evening, with the sun shining. The boys had the boat already baited up with full tanks of mixed sardines and anchovies, so we felt well stocked with finbait ammo. Skipper Sims gave us the orientation lecture after we’d eaten our supper sandwiches and were clear of Point Loma. He said boats fishing that afternoon had some success at about 90 miles. That’s where he wanted to start our day’s fishing.

Royal Star loafed downhill all night. The boat seems quieter than I remembered, which may have something to do with the many recent improvements made over the spring downtime for boat work. Owner-operator Tim Ekstrom told me on the dock before we left that he and Randy Toussaint had replaced, rebuilt or restored virtually everything on the boat in the time since they’d bought it. That included the engines, generators, water-making and electrical systems, refrigeration, fish holds, etc.

“We’ve replaced virtually all the boat’s machinery,” he said. “After a boat’s built and been running for a while you learn what needs to be done.”

When first light came we began to troll the albacore jigs. The sea was ruffled, with a three to four-foot swell from the northwest. The morning water temperature was 64.5 degrees, making for excellent conditions.

Our first two stops came on meter marks that produced bluefin tuna. The first stop brought a first-ever bluefin for two young ladies on their first ride aboard a long ranger. The girls were out with dad, Steve Rodriquez of Alta Loma. Madison Rodriquez, 11, and her big sister Abby, 13, reeled in a brace of bluefin of 23 and 25 pounds, weighed on the ship’s big scales.

“Mine was really heavy,” said Madison. “He went down and stayed there for a really long time. He was a very pretty color, just beautiful.”

Madison goes to Banyan Elementary School in Alta Loma.

Abby said her 25-pound shortfin “…was tiring to reel in. I had a loose drag, so we tightened it up. He went straight out.”

Abby will be a freshman at Los Osos High School this fall, where she wants to play second base in softball.

The two girls got their bluefin with seven-foot Shimano spinning outfits, rigs Steve had bought to help them learn to fish, not a bad idea for starts, as they say. Later in the afternoon dad got his recognition for the trip’s best albie, a 24-pounder. Rodriguez owns Steve’s Professional Glass Tinting in Upland.

We spent the morning in run and gun fashion, trolling from one stop to another, for one or two fish at a stop. As the day went on, we saw more albacore and bluefin schools at the surface, jumping and puddling on the tiny bait that always makes fishing tough in the early season. Whether you call them noseeums or two eyes and a wiggle, those one to two-inch baitfish get all the attention of the arriving gamefish.

Tuna eating little mackerel or sardines, saury or anchovies of that size aren’t really tuned in to the sardines and medium to large anchovies of the sort most commonly available to sportboats. Some of us tried small silver lures or plastic baits, but I didn’t see much caught with artificials.

Albacore will bite trolled jigs even when they’re eating fish not much bigger than krill, however, and we kept busy most of the morning, picking away with our Zuker’s and cedar plugs. I saw albacore caught on the skirted jigs in green and black, zuchinni and black and purple colors; the standard stuff for trolling.

Thanks to Bill Miagawa at Zuker’s, we gave the boat a couple of new jigs, and I saw those produce later. Thanks also go to Mustad, for the small packages of hooks and baitmakers we gave all passengers, along with a calendar.

We saw very few kelp paddies in the area. At mid-morning we found one that wasn’t large, smaller than a piano, but it was holding yellowtail. Anglers picked off eight or ten of those. They were paddy yellows, all right, about six or eight pounds, but one was the real deal, a solid 21-pounder caught by Brian Verzella of Encinitas.

The day came on cloudy and cool, with a light breeze. Late in the morning we had a stop that produced six bluefin. None of them were mine. I was having One Of Those Days. Snakebit, the best feat I could manage all day was to feel a bite, and reel in a sardine with a crushed head. I tried all my stealth tricks, being first into the water, using light gear, fluorocarbon, ringed hooks, trying different sized baits, etc.

We ate a nice lunch featuring a chicken wrap, caught a few more albacore and bluefin on brief stops, and went into the afternoon doldrums, looking but not finding. The area we fished was holding fish, we knew, because we could see five seiners and half a dozen San Diego sportboats. Some of the seiners were working, with half-hauled nets hanging as though they were waiting for the pen boat. A couple of aircraft were flying around nearby, indicating the presence of bluefin. At the end of the day we could see two high-winged airplanes and two orange helicopters circling near the little seiner fleet.

Around four in the afternoon fishing began to pick up again. We had a stop for six bluefin, and several more albacore stops. We drew a few blanks, of course, stopping on marks or schools of jumpers that flat wouldn’t play with us at all.

I saw two schools notable for their size. The first one was a bunch of bluefin about a hundred yards square, swirling and jumping right up to the point the boat was 30 feet off. They sank out, and as we flylined our baits out, reappeared 200 yards behind us, fooling about at the surface again.

Then we saw a school of albacore in the hour or two of sunlight we got near the day’s end. It was as large as any I’ve seen, about 200 yards long and 100 yards wide. I don’t know how deep it was, but everywhere I looked I could see flashing sides under the jumpers. Some of those sides looked too big to be albacore, but they had to be albies because of the bright silver finish shining through the pristine water, so blue it was almost purple. The water temperature had climbed to 65.5 degrees.

We got four or five fish off that school. Then, just before seven p.m., skipper Sims found a school of longfin that bit for several minutes. It was like the evening rush hour for the fish. Most of our 22 passengers were hooked up at once. Even the cursed sportswriter found an acorn, a 16-pound albacore that snapped on a big anchovy and then tussled on 25-pound line for five minutes. My reel seat was loose, I noticed as the reel clunked back and forth. I couldn’t do much about it while I was in the middle of the fight, but I tried to tighten it between cranks and lifts.

Second skipper Greg Tanji came to my rescue, and cranked down on the tightening bands. I was able to finish the fight shortly after, and Tanji gaffed my fish. The albacore were still biting in the most prolonged event of the day, and before it was over we got a dozen on the deck. I put out a sardine, and immediately got another strike, right under the center of the stern.

But that was the end of that bite, so we moved on. Fifteen minutes later were found another bunch that bit and stayed a few moments, and I caught my second albie of the day. I was so relieved I only fished one more stop. It was nearing sunset. I broke my gear down while I still had good light. then we enjoyed a super dinner of roast pork loin with fresh-baked bread and dinner salad.

Sims fished on until complete darkness, and we got several more albacore, but the day was basically finished for making a catch. We had over 80 fish for the day, one of the best so far this year. Some of the other boats we fished with may have done as well or better.
The two girls, Abby and Madison, won the prizes we put up for the first albacore and the first bluefin. Nice guy and vetranarian Bob Thayer of Nuevo won the jackpot for a the day’s best bluefin, a 27-pounder.

Partner Paul Sweeney and I would like to thank Royal Star and her crew, who served long, hard and well during on of the year’s longest days, when we fished from sunup to sundown. Skipper Brian Sims, deckhands Greg Tanji, Blake Wasano, Steve Gregonis, Issac Sullen and chefs Drew Rivera and Jeff Grant did us right. We got some great HD video and some very nice still photos, a few of which will go out with this story.

To sum things up, I was much encouraged by what I saw on the water. There are a lot of fish out there, both bluefin and albacore. They’ll be drawing close enough for the dayfleet sooner rather than later, I think. According to the skippers I’ve talked with in the past few days, the fish are moving northward.

The way the fish bit at day’s end made me think we’ll be able to catch them, as they move off the tiny bait of spring and feed on larger sardines and anchovies as summer progresses. Keep your hooks and your reflexes sharp, and you’ll get your share of the summer tuna fishing.

After locating the fish at the south end of Cedros Island it seemed like every single bait or iron tossed or dropped was nailed ferociously by a mean hungry yellowtail. We were on our 9th annual kids themed trip and this time we had 10 kids, 3 grandparents, eight proud dads and a few other anglers.

At first we were focused on getting all the kids bendo, which was quite easy as the yellows were hungry and cooperative. Several of the kids were already veterans from our prior trips and needed no help at all and in fact had several fish before many of the adults got bit. Veteran teenage angler, Daniel Delgado, was on fire through out the trip and started helping the other kids and adults with advice, mentoring and hook and hands.

These were the perfect sized yellowtail to start the trip; 15 to 20 pounds of solid muscle and fight. Jason and Daniel Davis, two eight year old twins from Bozeman, Montana joined their dad, Scott, and Grandpa Dan on the trip and had never tackled anything except their local trout and walleye. These kids were already addicted fresh water anglers and learned rapidly how to fight and follow their fish around the boat.

Although they accepted every hook and hand fish offered throughout the trip, it was really cool and very gratifying to see them pin on a bait, drop it in, get bit and land many of their fish all by themselves. These kids are fishing fools and will be back for many more trips.

Daniel Jacobsen (yes, we had 4 Daniels) was another veteran teen on board and had his way with yellowtail, after yellowtail. Both teen Daniels outfished most of the adults.

Proud papas, Fritz Jacobsen and Danny Delgado, along with all of the other dads were so happy and proud when their kids were at the rail trying to get bit or using all their muscle and wit to land these fish. Ian Campbell, also from Bozeman, joined his dad Clint and Grandma Kate on the trip.

After tagging beautiful grade yellowtail on our first day at the island, we started our hunt for quality. Captain Tommy Rothery wanted to give us a shot at the world-class, trophy yellowtail Cedros Island frequently produces. A 15-pound yellowtail is a very tough fighting machine. A couple new anglers were a little intimidated by the thought of 30 and 40-pound monsters. We were soon rewarded. Huge boils in our chum line caused our group adrenaline to jump start and we were shortly on to a new game.

Amazed and dazed during the action but sore and satisfied that evening we all shared stories of the gigantic yellows we conquered and all the ones that got away. Every angler earned one of these trophy fish and lucky or skilled anglers landed several.

Returning kids, Alex Bravo, Sydney Mack, and Annie and Alan Burgess, also had great trips retaining the skills from their prior voyages. Alex Jr was on fire for a couple of hours when he caught more fish than Alex Sr, although dad seemed to always kick off the bites and certainly was one of the hot sticks for the trip. Teenager Annie Burgess landed a 39.4-pound yellowtail to secure the first place in the kids division jack pot. Sydney Mack brought her cousin Dominic Ortiz along and they swept 3rd and 2nd with monster fish of 35.6 and 35.8, respectively.

Alan Burgess was proud of his kids, Alan and Annie, and also of his Dad, Bob, who got 2nd place in the jackpot for his 39.6-pound yellowtail. Fritz Jacobsen earned 2nd place with his 38 pound fish and lucky me came in first with a 40.2-pound yellow, one of eight caught on the Salas 7X and H/T Transition Jig surface irons. By the way, the best irons on the trip were the old standard Salas 7X for surface and 6XJr for yoyo and the new Transition Jigs by High Tide.

Even the guys without kids had a blast. Dean Hepp is a salmon and steelhead fishing guide out of Orleans, California and had never caught a yellowtail, albacore or bluefin tuna. He scored a grand slam on all species and was also totally surprised by the strength of these fish. Before the end of this trip Deano had booked two more long range trips and invited any of his fellow Supreme anglers to a free guided fishing trip in Northern California. My best friend of 30 years, JC Hardemion, put on a yoyo demo on day one, landing so many fish he had to slow down to manage his limits and leave room for a few trophies. Veteran anglers Rod Cavanaugh and Pete Villareal were new to this trip and had a great time with the kids.

Thanks to all of our generous suppliers for the many raffle items. Shimano generously donated a beautiful Tallus Rod and Tyrnos 2-speed reel. Lori Byron donated a beautiful limited edition print from the Chuck Byron collection for our charity raffle. Thanks also to Salas and High Tide for all the jigs they donated and Izorline for the free line. Thanks to AFTCO for the great shirts and hats, Big Hammer for the swim baits, SportFishingReport.com and 976Tuna for the T-shirts and our friends at Western Outdoors. We raised $500 for the MDRA Youth Fishing Program.

Also, thanks to Captain Tommy Rothery and the awesome crew of the Polaris Supreme. Congratulations and thanks to Chef Dave for the incredibly awesome cuisine on his first voyage. The prime rib and marinated lamb chops was some of the best ever, the seafood fettuccine Alfredo is a signature dish and your turkey extravaganza was amazing.

Lastly, I want to thank all of our anglers. Seeing you dads and grand parents work and bond with your kids is inspirational. Thanks also to the guys who did not have their own children for their patience, kindness and help with the kids. For all of you reading this trip report, please consider introducing your kids, nephews, nieces, neighbors and grand kids to the joy of fishing. This is the only way our sport will survive. A five-day trip is the perfect venue as it provides the time for learning and developing the skills, the opportunity and time to find good fishing areas of biting fish and the comfort and space of a deluxe long range vessel.

Be sure to call Susan right away at 619-390-7890 to reserve your spot for next year’s kids long range fishing trip. Happy Fishing.

"Our trip started out at the Rocks as we arrived at 0800," reported Excel skipper Justin Fleck June 22.

"The conditions were less than favorable but there seemed to be a little bit of fish around. We scratched through out the morning on tunas of all sizes and some quality yellows. Around 1400, everything shut off and we didn't catch much for the afternoon. The weather is picking up again."

“Good morning folks,” wrote Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates June 22. “We had another decent day, not to hot in the morning but scratched from lunch until dark, getting 56 tuna and 26 yellowtail. One fish weighed around 100 pounds and we lost a couple other bigger fish on light line.

“We only had a few yellows last night but at least they were keeper-size fish . We plan on staying here until after lunch and then start heading up. We’ll spend a day and a half at Cedros and finish up offshore.”

“Our weather today was a bit breezy,” said the Royal Polaris report for June 22, “with 12 to 15 knots of wind, overcast skies, and a bit chilly. With Mother Nature on the brink, that didn't stop our young anglers from putting fish in the hole.

“The morning started out early with a healthy breakfast, then we started looking for something to catch. It was hit and run most of the day, but we ended up with some quality albacore and bluefin tuna. Most of the albacore were in the 12 to 15-pound range, with a few going over 20 pounds. Our lucky anglers today were Mike Darakjian, with a 60-pound bluefin tuna, and Annie Vellonakis, with a 45-pound bluefin tuna.

We are now headed to Cedros Island, and should arrive at 07:00 hours. We will be trying our luck at some quality yellowtail.”

“The encouraging information keeps pouring in,” wrote owner Tim Ekstrom June 22, “as reports from our guys in the lower one and one half day zone posted nice scores of fifty to one hundred albacore with a few handfuls of kelp paddy yellowtail and a smattering of bluefin tuna in the mix. On the near local grounds of anywhere from 25 to 60 miles there is very good sign of 18 to 35-pound bluefin tuna with scattered spots stretching about as far as the eye can see in the late afternoon.

"Royal Star is poised and ready for departure on the final one and one half day with space available of the 2009 season. For any and all interested it appears that this the trip is going to feature an extremely light load so this is a fantastic opportunity to fish Royal Star luxury style with an ultra limited group of anglers. Tracy will be in the office all day to so give her a call if you want to jump on this all-inclusive mini long range voyage."

“It was another excellent day of yellowtail fishing for us,” wrote Shogun skipper Bruce Smith June 22. “Today was spent concentrating on those big bruisers that we found yesterday.

“After a quick one hour bait making session early this morning, we ran back over to the hog hot spot, got the anchor down and had to wait about an hour before the first mossbacks started showing. We went from standing around wandering if these pups were going to bite this morning to having six going instantly.

“The remainder of the morning was spent with one to six going until about 11:00 when it totally shut off. We made a couple of drift for halibut, of which we got three and one white sea bass, then made a tour up the island and were lucky enough to get into another bite of big home guards. This time it lasted until the sun went over the ridge.”

We saw a new type of jig, a swimbait of sorts, at the spring fishing shows. It looked good to me, but I forgot about it until we got this note from the maker recently. I think I’d like to try fishing with the new jig, and I’d like viewers and readers to let me know if they’ve tried the Candy Mack, and what sort of success was experienced.

Here’s the note we got about the new swimbait:

“My name is Jeff Law and along with my partner Jens Hamar, we started Aqueous Outdoors. The Candy Mack is our first saltwater swimbait. (I have attached a photo of the green back.) It also comes in blue and sardine patterns.

“What makes our lures unique is what we call "Internal Flow Technology". Water is taken inside the lure to create the tail kick instead of pushing on the outside like all other lures. The water hits our patent-pending diverter located at the base of the tail; that gives the lure a true side-to-side action that starts at the base of the tail just like a real fish.

“With the Candy Mack we have adjusted the diverter to give a short rapid tail kick. The Candy Mack is meant to be fished just like a surface iron. At 3.4 oz. it feels and casts just like your favorite surface iron, but with a mackerel tail kick. You can also slow troll it at two to three knots, just like it was a nose-pinned mackerel.”

It’s been a couple of weeks, but the big yellowtail that hang out at Cedros Island have started to bite again. Many of them live in the shallows along the lee side (and at other spots, to be sure), and hooking them near structure makes it tough to bring ‘em in, but Bruce Smith’s Big Fish Happen group fishing aboard the Shogun seems to be doing just that, as of yesterday afternoon.

“It was a fantastic day of yellowtail fishing,” wrote Smith on the first day of summer.

“We started out the morning with good biting fish in the 14 to 20-pound class that lasted well past lunch. The yellows were biting everything from dropper loops to surface fly lined baits along with the Salas 7X surface iron. Very fun fishing and something we needed after yesterday’s slow fishing.

“At 15:00 we made a move in search of some bigger fish and as luck would have it, we found them! Sweet. 28 to 38 pounds, theses brutes put on a show for us for almost two hours, in which time we landed 23 of them. Since we were sitting in extremely shallow water, we inevitably lost some of them, but enough made it aboard to make it a worth-while move, to say the least.”

"We arrived at the Rocks just before lunch and got the anchor down over some good signs of life. It took a couple of hours to get them going, but once the current switched so did the action. We spent the last 4 to 5 hours of the day with great action on the 30 to 50-pound yellowfin and some nice grade yellows mixed in as well. There were times when we had 8-10 going and the kite was getting the job done in steady form. We will be set up for tomorrow!"

An eight-day trip sponsored by Big Fish Tackle with chartermaster Ron Hirao returned June 21. Skipper Jeff DeBuys docked the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing and weighed the best fish in the catch of yellowfin tuna and yellowtail.

“It was a very good trip,” said chartermaster Hirao. “We had good anglers aboard and some good weather, too. On our last day of fishing we got about 70 albacore.”

Gene Okita of Tustin won the jackpot for a 90.8-pound yellowfin tuna he got on the kite with one of the boat’s rigs.

“This is my first kite fish,” he told Bill Roecker at the scales. “It was amazing; he crashed on my squid, and they all screamed, ‘reel, reel!’ I love your website, I always read the reports.”

The kite rig (skipper DeBuys said the group went through three complete kite rotations) put the squid on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, with 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXH rod. Okita got his fish in 30 minutes, he said.

Rick Berg of Saratoga won second place for a 59.4-pound tuna. He said he took that fish on 25-pound line. Paul Gaines of Colfax won third place for a 59-pound yellowfin he caught on 30-pound line. Wayne Honda of Oceanside got close with a 55-pounder. Anglers aboard the Indy said the surface iron was working well at Cedros Island, where the group stopped to fill out their yellowtail limits on the way home.

Skipper DeBuys said, “We enjoyed classic spring fishing at Alijos Rocks, on a nice grade of yellowfin tuna. The offshore tuna were up yesterday in the morning. I saw some bonafide schools of bluefin and albacore. It’s looking good.”

“We started out the trip yesterday with a couple handfuls of bluefin within one day range,” said American Angler skipper Brian Kiyohara June 20. “There was decent sign of fish but previous local experience put the equation together. Close to home, good weather, Saturday, and the first good sign of tuna fish in local waters meant that we would not be there on a 3 day.

“We idled down during the night and in the morning with the help of a few other boats we were able to get on some fish. We saw pretty good sign of jumpers throughout the morning but a lot of the spots wanted nothing to do with us. We scratched a few here and a few there and ended up with a respectable 66 albacore and a couple of bluefin.

“Today's picture shows the Japanese American/bluefin connection. Pictured is Takeuchi (gaffer), Takeshige (angler), Imai (angler) and Kiso (mast man) with our two bluefin of the day.”

“We got to the Rocks just before lunch,” Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates wrote June 20, “and had a decent scratch until about 3:00. Conditions took a turn for the worse and everything swam off. We made a couple of adjustments but nothing paid off after 4:00. It was a slow afternoon.

“We did manage 50 tuna and a dozen yellowtail that we kept. The tuna were 30 to 50 pounds with a couple just a little bigger. With a full day tomorrow we are hoping to have a bigger window of opportunity. If conditions hold up it looks like there is a chance.

“Good kite action for a bit but most fish were taken fly line with 40 pound test. We will report again tomorrow.”

“Happy Father's day," read the Royal Polaris report June 20. "We had a scratchy day of fishing offshore, but we end up with 17 Yellowtail and 14 Bluefin. The Bluefin were in the 23 to 30 pound range. The largest Bluefin was caught by Duane Malin.

“Weather today was cool, with overcast skies, and flat seas. We will arrive to Fisherman's landing at 06:30 hours. We will depart on our annual 5-day family trip at 11:00 hours. Until tomorrow, wish us luck, the R/P crew.”

“As the sun came up in the morning," reported Royal Star owner skipper Tim Ekstrom June 20, "we were in beautiful flat calm, bait-filled, clean water, knowing that a great day of fishing awaited us,” said the boat’s report. “It took us until around 10 in the morning to get things located and when we did the bluefin acted like bluefin. Meaning that the visual show above the surface was well worth the ticket price and even though we were hitting spot after spot, it took the perfect presentation to elicit a strike. When all was said and done we landed ten 22 to 35-pound tuna. Our jackpot winner was young Sam Ernst with the 35-pounder.

“On another note in another area the albacore made a pretty good showing for a couple of guys. This other area is in 1 ½-day range. Unless things change substantially we will be chasing albacore on our next day and a half trip Tuesday night. There are still spots available.”

“Today we are in a different area 140 miles from San Diego," read the report aboard Searcher June 20. "Yesterday there were albacore and bluefin tuna caught by another boat here. We saw lots of fish on the surface but they wouldn't bite that well.

“We managed to land 28 albies in the 15 to 20 pound range. Some of the other boats in the area had better luck on some of the spots, so they had a little better fish count. The encouraging thing is that this is a different area with what appears to be good signs of fish.

“Things have definitely changed for the better with more fish showing up all the time. There has been a lot of bluefin tuna seen in several different locations so there is hope for the upcoming trips.”

Qualifier 105 docked June 20 after the annual AHI trip with Dallas Lamb as chartermaster for 31 anglers. Skipper Joe Crisci weighed the best of his catch from the seven-day trip to Alijos Rocks, where the tuna are starting to run a bit larger than the past few weeks.

“We pulled in there and sort of anchored up in the middle,” said Joe. “The tuna seemed like they were all over the flats, and before I got back on the hook we had one on. It just stayed good like that, and I never had to move again.

“Kite fishing was excellent,” remarked Crisci. “We went through four complete rotations. We had plenty of tuna and almost as many yellowtail.”

Rick Goldberg of San Diego won first place for a 112-pound yellowfin. He bagged his pot-winner on a sardine and a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he used 40-pound Big Game line on a Shimano 20 reel and a Calstar 800 H rod.

Casey Wasson of Chico took second place for an 86-pound tuna, and Jason Marvar of San Pedro won third place for a 78-pound Alijos Rocks yellowfin tuna.

Excel returned from a five-day open party trip with 34 anglers. Skipper Justin Fleck docked at Fisherman’s Landing June 20 after the best short trip of its type this season.

“We had near-limits of yellowtail,” he told Bill Roecker at the scales. “And we had almost 150 albacore and nearly a hundred bluefin. They were in 65 and a half-degree water.

“The outfit most of the guys were using 30-pound mono with some 30-pound Berkeley fluorocarbon leader we were giving away, on a 2/0 or 3/0 hook. The best news is that we had jigstrikes all the way from Geronimo Island up to Colnett.”

Ken Petersen of Saratoga won the jackpot for his 40.4-pound bluefin tuna.

“It took 20 minutes,” he said. “He fought like hell.”

Ken said he baited a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad hook tied to 30-pound Big Game line and 30-pound fluorocarbon. He used a Daiwa Saltist 30 reel and a seven-foot Ugly Stick rod.

Ogner Gonzales of LA won second place for a 39.4-pound bluefin, and Dick Ableser of Garden Grove took third place for his 37-pound bluefin.”

IATTC scientist Ed Everett was at the dock measuring the bluefin for a continuing study.

“These fish are running a bit larger than they did last year,” he commented.

Seaforth Sportfishing spokesman David Tittle said the Voyager, on a day and a half trip, got 16 albacore and one bluefin June 18. Pacific Voyager, on the first of a two-day trip, got 80 bluefin and one albacore within one-day range June 19. Other boats are presently fishing in the same area, said Tittle.

Prowler Gets Bluefin

Aaron Brenes at Fisherman’s Landing, said that Buzz Brizendine skippered his Prowler out to 60 or 70 miles June 19 and returned with a catch of 23 bluefin, seven albacore and two yellowtail.

"Lines were in the H2O before the sun was up," reported chartermaster Dallas Lamb aboard the Qualifier 105, "...fish were on the deck within 30 minutes and didn't stop all day.

"Great grade of yellowfin tuna being brought on, several people have limited out. Even the rookies, who have never been on a long-range trip are fly lining like pros. There is nothing like a consistent bite to improve one's skills."

The next day, Lamb reported: "We get there and the normal spots were tied up. Capt. Joe made the rounds, watching the meters and picked a spot where (normally) no one drops anchor. Great! We didn't move for the remainder of the trip. Quality tuna 35 to 110-pounds, yellowtail averaged 25 pounds with several in the 40-pound class, one over 50 pounds. We went through the rotation on the kite four times. If you wanted a fish, all you had to do was put time on the rail. Many of our vetern anglers got personal bests.

"All said & done a great trip, looking forward to next years trip.

"On a final note, if you haven't gone out yet, go! The fishing is great, the boat better than ever...a good time is awaiting all."

The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) has finally reached an agreement of a 59 days tuna fishing closure for the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) in 2009. The voting took place during the last day of the 80th IATTC Meeting in La Jolla, California, last week.

Korea, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United Stated, France, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Vanuatu and Venezuela reached a consensus that lead to the resolution above, in order to recover tuna stocks in the EPO – especially bigeye tuna.

Colombia, however, accepted the closure as ad-referendum, which means that it didn’t join the consensus yet due to some points that might be still discussed. The Individual Vessel Closure (IVC) proposed by the country was under discussion during the meeting and even accepted by some parties. The final outcome didn’t take it into consideration though, and Colombian higher authorities have until July 15th 2009 to ratify the positive vote the delegates made last Friday.

The final resolution is applicable for the years of 2009-2011 to all vessels from class 4 to 6 (more than 182 tons of carrying capacity) and to all vessels longer than 24 meters fishing for yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack at the EPO.

Those vessels should stop their fishing activities as the following:

2009 – 2010 From August 1st to September 28th
OR from November 21st to January 18th, Total of 59 days

2010 - 2011 From July 29th to September 28th
OR from November 18th to January 18th, Total of 62 days

2011 – 2012 From July 18th to September 28th
OR from November 7th to January 18th, Total of 73 days

Considering the results of the first two years, the closure period may or may not be modified in 2011.

Vessels classified as class 4 (182 – 272 tons of carrying capacity) will be allowed to go for only one fishing trip – with duration no longer than 30 days and carrying an observer on board – during the closure period.

It seems that Ecuador was able to bend the IATTC parties to most of its requests, starting with the duration of the tuna ban for this year.

Last April, Ecuador’s Fisheries Sub-secretary, Guillermo Moran, announced that he would try to reach the 59 days closure at the IATTC meeting. And even though the country was not able to completely exempt class 4 vessels from the ban, they will only have to complete 50% of it.

The offshore area closure, between 94° and 110°W and from 3°N to 5°S, was also exponentially reduced from 109 days to one month – 29th of September to 29th of October.

According to IATTC staff, the tuna closure will reduce fishing effort by 20% over the next 3 years and 9% what comes to longline fishing for adult bigeye.

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) was present at the meeting with an observer status and its president, Susan Jackson, stated that even though the organization is satisfied with the fact that some conservation measure has been agreed upon after two years, “this is not the endgame”.

ISSF recently released a resolution affirming that trade sanctions would be made if no conservation measures for bigeye tuna were decided and enacted during this last IATTC meeting.

Besides China, Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei – which has specific quotas established by the Commission – other member countries should make sure that bigeye catches won’t transpose 500 M/T from their 2001 catching quantity of the species.

All member countries shall provide de IATTC the names of the vessels under the closure resolution and other unilateral conservation measures that might be taken before July 15th 2009.

The IATTC tuna fishing closure coincides with the Western Central Pacific Ocean tuna closure – From August 1st to September 30th – which may impact the global tuna prices due lower supply.

The 14th annual co-sponsored trip aboard American Angler returned June 19 with skipper Brian Kiyohara at the helm. Chartermaster John Lloyd, Zuker’s co-owner, was pleased with the trip.

“It was a great time,” he told Bill Roecker at Pt. Loma Sportfishing. “We’ve had pretty much the same guys come back for the last seven years.

“We didn’t do much on the troll this time,” he remembered. “I got several albacore on the Pt. Wilson Dart, asnd they bit it mostly on the sink, not so much on the grind. I change out the hooks, and attach a Mustad hook with a bigger barb on it. They were hitting on a anchovy-colored dart.”

Skipper Kiyohara said, “Out timing made it tough at The Rocks, but that forced us into some good fishing. “We had a classic plunk on bluefin.”

Poway regular Jim Hall elaborated, “The bluefin actually pushed the albacore away from us. We scored 40 at one stop. We spent a day at Cedros, and then fished offshore. We had decent weather for the most part.”

Bob Chapman of Newport Beach, another regular, tied for first place with George Kanaeko of LA for first place. Each man had a 40.8-pound yellowfin tuna from Alijos. Both fish came on sardines.

“Our good luck streak continued today,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck June 18, “down at the islands. The yellowtail fishing was incredible. The grade of the fish is 15-20 pounds and they were hittin'!

“I have to say that this is probably my favorite type of fishing. It never gets old to watch a yellowtail track down and slam your Salas 7x right on the surface.

"The day was topped off by an amazing sushi spread put out by chefs Jason and Jim. The weather remains outstanding so we will be offshore again tomorrow trying to finish our trip off.”

On June 18, Chris Zotti wrote via email: “Hey, Bill: I live in New Jersey out on the east coast. I’m going on my first long range trip next week. I’m doing an 8-day trip on the Excel. What can I expect? I’ve never fished anywhere else besides NJ. I can’t wait to go!”

Bill’s Reply:

“You could encounter yellowfin tuna to 80 pounds or more, albacore of 10 to 35 pounds, bluefin of 10 to 40 pounds and yellowtail of 10 to 35 pounds or so. You’ll likely fish offshore and at islands. You may well fish at Alijos Rocks. I predict you’ll have a good time sand a few sore muscles from pulling on fish. You might want to take a look a several of the videos we’ve done about trips of that length. The latest is called At The Rail and In The Skiff, and we have one almost finished shot on the Excel. For release in the next few weeks, the new one is called Alijos Tuna Flyer. Good luck!”

On June 18, Colin Sarfeh wrote via email: “Hey Bill: As the summer tuna season is about to explode with many of the 1 ½-day boats catching fish, I wanted to get a new albacore/bluefin outfit. I personally like fishing the lighter gear for these fish (20 to 25-pounds), but I was wondering if you had any suggestions on what your favorite equipment is for the footballers and bluefin. I was thinking about maybe getting an Avet MX matched with a 7'-8' Seeker, but who knows -- I just want to get on the water! Here's hoping for an awesome season! P.S. Attached is a pic of a nice local yellowtail I just caught last week.”

Bill’s Reply:

"Hi, Colin: I’d certainly recommend the Seeker 6470 in Black Steel or the Super Seeker series. It’s an excellent all-purpose rod that works well for local tuna and yellowtail, with jigs or bait. To get best use, I’d suggest 30-pound line for the rod, however (just in case that 45-pound bluefin comes along), and using a fluorocarbon leader of 20 or 25 pounds. With lighter fluorocarbon the rig could be used in a pinch for bass or other inshore species. That model also comes in a heavier blank, the 6470 H, if you wanted to go in that direction. Nice little yellow you got there! Bill"

“I’ve been averaging 100 per trip for less than 20 anglers. They’re been running from legal size up to four or five pounds. Most of them are coming on sardines, but we’ve had some good fishing on plastic in a downhill current. And they’re starting to bite the iron!”

Here’s a picture of a fish from East Cape. It’s a jack of some sort, and was given to us when we visited Rancho Leonero recently. We asked several scientists to identify the barred critter. We got back two educated guesses.

The first came in the form of a reply to Ed Everett, the gentleman familiar to anglers as the scientist with a measuring stick who checks out bluefin tuna as they arrive in San Diego each summer. The reply came from John R. Hyde, who wrote,” Definitely a Caranx (jack), likely Caranx caninus (Pacific Crevalle Jack). The dark bars are a bit odd but likely a juvenile pigmentation remnant. It doesn't appear to be a full-size adult but the scale is hard to figure...”

The problem with jack crevalle is that they don’t have the same sort of fin arrangement on the back. Also, having caught them from Panama to San Diego, I’ve never seen a jack crevalle with bars as an adult, or with the coloration we see in the picture, or without the dark spot near the base of the pectoral fin.

Paul Sweeney and I spent some time in my library and on the Internet. The only other fish we saw that looked like it might be close was a species called golden trevally. They seemed to be too small, though. Then we got a second educated guess, from an answer to a query for us from Steve Tagami at Mustad. It was from Charles Bergmann, who told us to see this Wikipedia link on Golden Trevally.

Then we went back to Fishbase.org's Golden Trevally page, and had to agree. I wrote Charles, “We’d checked that one at Fishbase.org and written it off. A re-check indicates that does get to the size of this fish, and then some. I believe that’s what it is. The other guess was a jack crevalle, but I’ve never seen one with so much color or those fins and markings. Even the face seems more blunt, stouter. Thanks, Bill”

Charles wrote back, “I had looked at photos earlier but while they had the same characteristics they looked different. I checked others but always came back to the golden trevally, due to the fins and body shape. When I saw this photo it was the same. The difference in head shape could be something to do with sex similar to that with dolphins (dorado).”

Searcher returned to Fisherman’s Landing June 18 after a five-day Qualia Reels charter with 20 passengers aboard. One of those was chartermaster Kent Cremolini of Walnut Creek, who showed off a bluefin tuna, one of three caught offshore with 48 albacore and a few yellowfin tuna.

“It was an awesome trip,” said Kent. “We had really good people on the boat.”

“We fished a bit on the way down and then fished offshore again on the way back,” said owner-skipper Art Taylor to dock reporter Bill Roecker.

“We had good fishing at the island, with near-limits of yellowtail. Those fish were mostly 15 to 18 pounds, and they bit on the yoyo iron and on bait. Not many tried the surface iron.”

Searcher regular Mark Seals of Cambria wailed on the albacore, catching a two-day limit of ten. His best one weighed about 24 pounds.

Doug Nance of San Diego took 15 minutes to wrestle with the trip’s best bluefin, a jackpot-winning 29-pounder.

“He fought well,” said Nance, who baited a sardine on a 3/0 ringed Mutu hook he said he found on the deck. He fished with 20-pound Ande line, a Torium 14 reel and a seven-foot Fenwick rod.

Dave Bell of San Diego won second place for a 25-pound yellowtail, and chartermaster Cremolini bagged third place for his 24.6-pound bluefin.

“Fishing until 2 PM on Wednesday, anglers were able to land 80 albacore, three bluefin tuna and one yellowfin tuna. Gerald Kusumoto took the jackpot with a 39-pound bluefin tuna. Gerald's fish was the second to last fish caught on the trip.

“Second and third place jackpots went to Mike Livingston and Jeff "Panic" Squires. Mike's fish was 36 pounds and Jeff's fish was 32 pounds.

“Albacore and bluefin signs were very encouraging. Numerous mixed tuna schools were metered. Those who wanted to play provided lots of action, including a simultaneous strike on a five-person trolling team. Most fish were in the 14 to 20 pound range.

“Eddie Hagihara had the largest albacore, a 30-pounder caught on the troll. Clearly, the much-awaited 2009 albacore season is finally here. Space is still available on upcoming June trips. Anglers are encouraged to review the Vagabond trip schedule and call the office at 619-224-6500 to make reservations.”

"Once again the morning started out slow for us even though some of the other boats had some nice hits," reported Excel skipper Justin Fleck June 17.

"Just about lunchtime we found a good school on the machines and it decided to bite. We had 75 albacore and 25 bluefin out of that hit. It was down right good fishing there for a while. There were a few short stops in the afternoon before we decided to start sliding down south to put ourselves in position to be at the islands tomorrow. Hopefully the yellows will be waiting for us."

"Tuesday afternoon," reported Vagabond June 17, "with near yellowtail limits on the boat, we spent our remaining time at the islands fishing for real-deal mossbacks and were not disappointed. As is stands right now, the jackpot will come from one of a half dozen fish taken off dropper loops.

"As this is being written we are trolling for albacore and bluefin. Adding to the anticipation are promising reports from boats that fished in this area yesterday.

"Fourth year Chef and newlywed Dan Cramer nailed the fresh yellowtail burgers. Several anglers swore those were the best they ever ate. Dan took advantage of fish that was swimming 30 minutes before it was served.

"We got out to the tuna grounds at daylight," reported American Angler owner skipper Brian Kiyohara June 17. "We had a weird morning as visibility was very poor and the moisture was so thick it was hard to determine if it was heavy mist or light rain. We saw a few scattered marks but nothing very good. We had the good fortune of having three of our other guys fishing in the same general area. There were a few decent stops in the morning but we were not the recipient of any. We wandered off to the west for nothing and the morning flew by. We had one albacore and three yellowfin tuna at one o'clock and it was high anxiety."

"Then we got in the zone and picked off a stop that was reminiscent of the bluefin drift years of the early and mid nineties. We kept one-to-six going all the time as they were showing down swell,on the corner and in the bow in classic bluefin style. We remember now why we love bluefin fishing so much."

"When it petered out and we started moving, the albacore were up, floating and eager. We had on the corner type fishing with everyone having one on several stops in a row."

"In one afternoon we experienced the "classic" bluefin drift on 25 to 40-pound fish and good on-the-corner albacore fishing. We compiled the first hundred fish day on albacore of the year and it certainly looks like there is a good chance that there will be more. In six hours of fishing we caught 114 albacore and 40 bluefin... we were very busy. If you have any ambiguity about the offshore fishing outlook we hope that we have answered the questions as the possibilities of a big day are here."

"Hello again," Independence owner Mark Pisano reported June 17, "(Captain Jeff DeBuys) called in tonight with the days report, fishing was again good for both yellowfin tuna in the 30 to 60-pound range and yelowtail in the 18 to 40-pound range. They had about 140 mixed fish with a few stand-out yellows up to 45 pounds and a few bigger tuna as well. They took off and are headed up the line to try a day at one of the islands to finish off on their limits of yellowtail and then fish the last full day offshore for albacore and bluefin. This eight day is turning out to to be another great trip. The weather is flat calm as well. Check back for reports on the last two days of fishing."

“There are some days on the ocean where everything floats," read the American Angler report June 17, "and it usually revolves around flat calm weather. The difference a day makes is one of the many reasons we all wake up in the morning. We had a tough last couple of days weather-wise, so grease calm and very little wind was well-deserved. We got to the yellowtail grounds shortly after daylight but it took about an hour to get on the fish. We had decent shots at them but overall it would be considered a steady pick. We then made an anchor job and fishing turned into as good as it gets.

“We smashed the 15 to 22-pound fish as morale is as high as it gets. Today was definitely a float day. The guys that arrived at the rocks had steady fishing on tuna, the yellows bit wide open and the Excel had the best offshore day of the year. Justin had a jigstrike turn into a long drift for 55 albacore and 60 bluefin which has set the standard so far this year. We are en route as we speak hopefully to experience a little of the same.”

“We started off shore this morning," wrote Justin Fleck, Excel skipper June 16.

“We didn't see much sign for the AM, but just after first call for lunch we had a sonar mark and we had a jig strike on albacore. The first fifty fish or so were 12 to 25-pound albacore. Then the bluefin took over. We picked at the bluefin all afternoon and ended up boating sixty bluefin 20 to 40 pounds. We really didn't get a chance to look around to see how much volume of fish are here, so we will be here tomorrow.

“The e-mail onboard the boat is still down. I did however talk to captain Jeff Debuys tonight (June 16) and this is his report for the first two days of fishing. They headed down toward Alijos and enroute to the rocks looked at an area that had some signs of albacore and bluefin tuna. The wind was up a bit in the 15 to 18 mph range; they did not have a whole lot to work on as three yellowfin tuna and one albacore in the 20-pound range were all they had to show for their efforts.

“The gang arrived at the rocks at noon and had very good action on yellowtail with many in the 30 to 45-pound range, along with 18 yellowfin tuna most in the 35 to 55-pound range, the biggest being 90 pounds. Today however the tuna bit much better with 85 beautiful yellowfin hitting deck of the Independence, most of which again were 30 to 55 pounds. The yellowtail also made a good showing though out the day and 130 fish were tagged, many of which in the 30 to 45 pound bracket.

“The weather has been about 15 knots and choppy seas but during the course of the day the wind backed off until they had to use a balloon on the kite to keep it flying. Jeff said they are planning to spend another day doing the same and see how it goes. He did mention the Excel on a five-day trip had 80 mixed albacore and bluefin today and wants to check that out for at least one if not two days on the way home.”

"Today we lived up to our name & kicked butt on all the boats down here at the rocks," the Qualifier 105 report read. "We nailed the yellowfin all day. A strong steady pick in the 40 to 65-pound class with a few bigger fish landed under A.H.I rules."

“Rich Goldberg, an A.H.I from way back, landed the tuna of the trip so far, a 100 to 110-pound yellowfin. Sweet!"

“Tim Dunn, 18, caught his first-ever fly line yellowtail, a 50-pound-plus ‘tail. His uncle Bill, who caught a 300-pound tuna last year, took him on the A.H.I. trip. If you haven't been on a long-range trip yet, do it! Fun is not even the right word...”

“Mid-morning report from Art Taylor June 18: They caught 38 albacore and two bluefin before turning the boat for home. The albacore are 15 to 20 pounds and were caught primarily on live bait. The weather is also good now!”

After going back through the year’s fish counts several times, the final count for the season features a couple of adjustments. Paul Sweeney and I found more cows that we expected and two fewer super cows than we previously thought were included. Here are the final numbers for the season’s big tuna catch: 504 tuna over 200 pounds, including 49 over 300 pounds. It was the best year ever for supercows.

First Yellowfin Come In: They’re Big

Mike Keating docked his Spirit of Adventure at H&M Landing June 17 after a five-day trip with 17 anglers. Matt Salas of Salas Lures was aboard. He gave all the anglers jigs and a 2009 Sportfishing Calendar.

“We fished offshore on the way down,” said Matt. “We fished two days at Cedros Island. It was windy, but the yellows bit. Big Jim was on fire.

“They bit the yoyo jig, mostly,” continued Salas. “That’s how I got most of mine, on the 6X Jr. They bit the surface jig some, too. It didn’t matter what color.”

Randy Bathauer of Torrance won first place for a 43.6-pound yellowfin tuna. He caught it with a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad 94150 hook on 60-pound Izorline, with an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

Jim Boyle of El Cajon won second place for a 36.3-pound yellowfin, and Felix Gomez of Santa Barbara took third place with the trip’s best yellowtail, a 35.6-pounder that ate his Salas 6X jig in “bleeding sardine” color.

Skipper Mike Keating said it was a bit rough on the outside. Someone asked if he ever got seasick, and Mike remarked, “I never get seasick. I just get hungry. My dad was a fighter pilot. I think artistic people are more likely to get seasick. I’m just out there working.

“It was nice fishing at Cedros,” continued Keating. “I saw good schools of tuna deep, and I thought they were bluefin, but everything we caught off them was yellowfin. It looks good outside. I think the next moon phase is likely when they’ll go off.”

Keating said he made about six stops on yellowfin, but the fish weren’t really willing, and didn’t stay with the boat long. At least one albacore was also caught, in the same area about 200 miles, down, where passengers said they could see Guadalupe Island in the distance.

Frank LoPreste docked his Royal Polaris at Fisherman’s Landing June 16 after a week-long trip to Alijos Rocks and waters offshore Baja. Tuna fishing was fair and yellowtail fishing was very good at The Rocks, with the second-biggest yellowtail caught on the kite that dock reporter Bill Roecker could remember.

The giant homeguard took a double trouble sardine rig under the kite and pinned 20-year-old James Springer to the rail, said Springer’s grandfather, Nobu Oshiro, a long-time Royal Polaris regular.

“I’ve been taking him fishing on the RP since he was nine years old,” Nobu said. “Now he’s going to college and he’s going to be a lawyer, maybe an environmental lawyer. You took his picture when he was a little kid.”

Skipper LoPreste hung James’ big yellow on the scales, and the numbers came up to 62.6 pounds.

“I saw him hit,” remembered James. “It was crazy; I saw a flash and then he was gone and the line came tight. I almost flew overboard.”

Some 15 minutes later James decked his prize, his best yellow ever, which won the Rollo Jackpot for the biggest yellowtail of the trip. He said he was using the boat’s kite rig: 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks, 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a 50 W Tiagra reel and a heavy rod.

James has finished his second year at George Washington University in Washington D.C. and will spend next year going to school in Costa Rica.

Dan Thorburn of Shimano split the jackpot with Robert Hindle of Marina del Rey. Both men had yellowfin tuna of 56 pounds. Thorburn fished his sardine on a 5/0 Super Mutu hook, with a 30-pound wind-on Shimano leader and a prototype Shimano reel and rod. Hindle pinned his ‘dine on a 4/0 Mustad hook. He used 30-pound P-Line and 65-pound Spectra on a Daiwa Sealine reel and a Truline CX 44 rod, he told Roecker. The fish fought for 45 minutes.

Brett Kopitz of Simi Valley won third place for a 54-pound yellowfin tuna, a fish he took with 40-pound line.

“We had a great day at Cedros Island today,” wrote Art Taylor June 15, “in spite of the tough conditions, 20 to 30 knots of wind, for most of the day. We had good fishing for 14 to 18-pound yellowtail, with steady action for most of the day.

“The majority of the fish were caught on live bait with a flyline rig of 30 to 40-pound line and a 2/0 hook. There were a lot of fish caught on the blue and white yo-yo jig and 50 pound line.

“We had a great dinner and everyone is looking forward to a good night’s sleep and another good day of yellowtail fishing.”

On June 13, Taylor filed this report: “Our Searcher turned 39 years old last month and I am starting my 25th year owning and operating her!”

“We departed Pt Loma a little after noon yesterday on the 19th A.H.I. trip for 7 days,” read the Q105 report on the Internet. “We spent yesterday prepping gear with morning albacore in mind. At first light, Capt Joe sent the word to put in the troll jigs. It was only a few minutes and hook up! We hooked a couple of the right kind. We ended up with a few fish and went back to trolling.

“We saw kelp a little later and after a trip around it with trolling gear out, we hooked a troll fish, a yellowtail. With a couple of baitfish, we split. That was about it for the day. We decided to head south a little after lunch.

“Tomorrow we are going to be at our destination and we have high hopes for what is awaiting us. Our group is a mix of people from all over the state and a couple guys from Minden, Nevada. We also have some first-timers on board and are eager to catch them some fish.”

“We arrived at the stones just before lunchtime,” wrote American Angler owner-skipper Brian Kiyohara June 14. “All the life was in the same place where we left from just 5 days previous. Conditions were a little different with the current barely a trickle and the fish did not really want to bite. We saw fish showing but we had to soak our baits in order to induce a strike. We still ended up with a respectable 58 yellows and a couple handfuls of decent tuna.

“There presently is a large south swell from New Zealand rolling through coupled with 18kts of NNW wind and the sea condition to go with it, so it is making our stay very uncomfortable. Luckily we have a tough bunch and the baby back ribs were devoured without a hitch.

“We're hoping for better fishing conditions tomorrow and we will keep our fingers crossed. Six year old Koa Afusia let his dad Roy borrow his fishing rod and Koa would be proud to know that it caught the day's largest yellowtail.”

Royal Polaris has had a good trip to Alijos Rocks, where yellowfin tuna and yellowtail were caught. Now the boat is heading for home, fishing along the way. The latest report was filed Sunday, June 14. The boat is doe at Fisherman’s Landing tomorrow morning.

“Weather was not very pleasant today,” wrote owner-skipper Frank LoPreste.

“There was 15 to 18 knots of breeze and a short choppy swell. We caught 15 albacore and four yellowtail for the day. There appears to be a line of scattered albacore for at least 120 miles. We caught our fish today in the 28 block which is the furthest south any have been caught this year.

“Because of the weather we will fish our last day at San Martin Island. We will target yellowtail and halibut. Wish us luck.”

America has produced numerous novels with fishing as a central or background theme, probably more of them than any other nation. Some that I’ve enjoyed go back to Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, whom Hemingway thought of as the daddy of American novelists, and Poppa’s own Old Man and the Sea, and his story, “Big Two-Hearted River.”

The tradition of sport fishing in the novel continues into recent times, with examples like Trout Fishing In America by Richard Brautigan and Tom McGuane’s The Sporting Club and 92 In The Shade. None of the novels mentioned here are how-to books, though one might learn a bit about fishing from them. They’re all powerful works, well worth reading, however.

I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a novel by an old friend recently. Dave Carpenter roomed at my rented house when we were both grad students at the University of Oregon. We did a bit of trout fishing together, up the river where I learned to fish rainbows, the Willamette. He was studying literature; I was in the creative writing MFA program.

The publisher is Canadian, as is Carpenter, who lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I was intrigued by the title, since Dave taught me the old-time style of playing the banjo (it’s called frailing) way back there in time, when we often played together in my living room, me on the guitar and Dave on his banjo.

Banjo Lessons is the story of a boy who loves fishing and can’t quite seem to find his place in the world. It’s a story about growing up, coming of age, getting stuck in a psychological rut, and moving on. I thought it had qualities worthy of the titles already mentioned, with a touch of innocent country humor that reminded me of the comic novel by Max Schulman, Barefoot Boy With Cheek.

I’d like to thank Dave for sending me his book by recommending it to other fishermen who read novels. I don’t know if it’s still available from the publisher, since 1997 was a while back, but you would likely be able to find it used on Amazon or EBay. A good library might also have a copy. Barnes & Noble has it new online for $18.95.

For you hard-core, “tell me how to fish” readers, Dave Carpenter’s Fishing The West is another title of interest for anglers. “Carp,” as his friends call him, has more titles in fiction and non-fiction, and he’s won numerous prizes for his work.

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III at H&M Landing Sunday morning, June 14, after a 15-day “June Heat” trip sponsored by Accurate Fishing Products. Leo Riehsen was the Accurate rep aboard. Many of the anglers were regulars who make the trip each year. This year Brandon Hayward, saltwater editor at Western Outdoor News, was also aboard, on his first trip to the islands as one of the 22 fisherman instead of a deckhand.

“It’s a whole other deal when you get your own cow on the deck,” said Brandon to dock reporter Bill Roecker. “These long trips are the same as the shorter long range trips; you don’t need to take a lot of gear. They have it on the boat. And the costs aren’t bad, either. If you saved $11 a day you’d have the money to go again next year.

“Andy’s perseverance paid off,” continued Hayward. “The big tuna were mostly caught in the last four days, mostly on the kite.”

Brandon had two cows, of 244.2 and 202.5 pounds. He baited sardines on 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks, and fished with 130-poundSeaguar fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 50 topless reel and a Calstar 7465 XH rod.

It was hard to talk with anyone at the dock, because a huge crowd took just about every square inch of cement on the pad at the scales, mostly on the rumor that the big fish might be a 400-pounder. Channel 8 and 9 were both there, along with several other news outlets, including the San Diego Union Tribune, represented by outdoors reporter-editor Ed Zieralski.

The onlookers were there to see the supercows. The taped weights came in a bit short when the fish were weighed, not uncommon, but perplexing to skipper Cates, who had thought Mike Ashford’s tuna might go 380 pounds. The crowd pressed inward as the fish went up on the scales. The dial showed a weight of 362.1 pounds, just good enough to make the all-time top ten list, in the last spot.

“I’m blown away,” said Ashford, of Coarse Gold, CA. “I didn’t know how big it was until they brought aboard through the gate. It was the last bait of the trip, and I was first in the water. He fought for an hour and 15 minutes.”

Mike gave Roecker a written account of the event. “The fish hit a bobber balloon,” he wrote, “on the last stop of the day. He ran across the stern and up the starboard side to the bow. I put the rod butt in my plate and never moved it. At no time did anyone touch the rod, nor did it touch the rail.

“The fish ran straight out, and was tail-wrapped when landed. It took four gaffs to bring it in through the gate.”

Ashford listed the following for his tackle: a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, crimped to 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra with a loop connection to 130-pound Line One Spectra with a Teraoaka nub knot connection. He fished with a Shimano 50 LRS reel and a Calstar 7465 XH rod. He also had a tuna that weighed 236.8 pounds.

Paul Oster of Mammoth Lakes won second place for a 304.8-pound tuna that sucked in a tube mackerel on the kite. He used a boat rig with a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate 80 reel and a Calstar 760 XH rod.

Lynn Freed of Winnetka won third place for a 295.3-pound yellowfin, his best ever, that bit a flying fish on the kite and fought for an hour. He pinned his bait on a 9/0 Mustad 3994 hook. He used 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 80 S reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 755 XXH rod.

Newport CPA Art Green, a long-time regular, got a pair of cows, at 270 and 202 pounds. Art fished sardines on 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks under a bobber balloon. He said he used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra, with a Tiagra 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

Thad Peach of Stanley, NC got fish of 261 and 236 pounds, with sardines on 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks. He went 100-pound all the way with 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 100-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet 30 W reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

“I love my custom rail rod,” he told Roecker, “it’s very powerful. I also got some fish on the new Two by Four Super Seeker. I liked that rod, too.

Chartermaster Leo Riehsen of Eagle Rock got a 259.8-pounder with a flying fish on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook and the kite, with 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate 80 reel and a Calstar 7460 XH rod.

Bob Cherry of Santa Monica picked a pair at 240 and 218 pounds. The big fish took 45 minutes, he said. He used 9/0 Mustad 7691 hooks on mackerel under the kite, with 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 80 S reel and a Calstar 7455 XXH rod.

Bob Michener of Oxnard got three cows, at 252, 214 and 206.8 pounds.

Steve Kneip of Bishop bagged a brace at 239 and 204.2 pounds. He baited flyers under the kite on 9/0 Mustad 7691 hooks, with 130-pound Momoi leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6455 XXH rod.

John Keeler of Santa Monica got a 238-pounder in 30 minutes on a sardine and an Eagle Claw 8/0 hook. He fished with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader, 130-pound P-Line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra, with an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

Roger Goldthwaite of LA bagged a 232.9-pounder on a mackerel under the kite. He put his bait on a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook and used the boat’s rig with an Accurate 80 reel.

Mike Butler also used the boat rod and reel to take a tuna of 225.9 pounds, baiting mackerel under the kite.

Bill Walsh of Chino Hills nabbed a 207-pounder in just 15 minutes after it took a mackerel under the kite. He put the bait on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, with 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar Baja Boomer rod.

Skipper Andy Cates tallied up his catch at 22 tuna over 200 pounds for 20 anglers, on the last trip of the 2008-09 season.

“Good fish,” he grinned.

The next big fish season will begin next fall, with the taking of the first 200-pound yellowfin, although any summer bluefin tuna of over 200 pounds will be included.

Norm Kagawa brought his Shogun home June 14 after an eight-day trip with 23 anglers to Alijos Rocks. He tied up at Fisherman’s Landing and weighed the best of his mixed catch, which included one dorado, a good catch of yellowfin and near-limits of yellowtail from Alijos Rocks. Fishing was good at “The Stones,” said Norm, but he was equally excited about his trip back.

“We got 47 bluefin on the way home,” he told Bill Roecker. “We got some off a breezer and the rest off a spot of jumpers. They were 30 to 40-pound bluefin, and most of them came on 30-pound line, on the flyline. We also got a dozen albacore.

“At The Rocks the tuna bit steady during the day, but at four o’clock each afternoon the current changed and that was it. We went out to Alijos Bank two nights and made some bait and got some good yellowtail, mixed fish of 25 pounds and up.

“I think we might get a shot a bluefin tuna this year,” opined Kagawa. “There’s only two seiners working right now. They’re seeing small schools of little interest.”

Roecker talked with two of the anglers who caught bluefin tuna. Kerry Iwanaga of Brea showed off a pretty tuna.

John Cunningham of Norton, MA had one a little bigger, one of three he got at the same stop.

“Marvellous,” said Cunningham. “This was my first trip, and it was an eleven on the scale of ten. No question about it, I’ll be back!”

Keith Barnett of San Diego won first place in the jackpot for a 65-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Mustad hook tied to 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Line One Spectra. He fished with an Accurate 870 two-speed reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6470 H rod.

All the jackpot fish were caught on 40-pound line. Wayne Gray of Camarillo won second place for a 64.6-pounder. Andre Rerolle of San Diego took third place for a 51-pound yellowfin, and Gus Angelidis of Roseville stood in with the winners in a lineup shot with his best-of-the-trip 43-pound yellowtail.

Owner mark Pisano and skipper Jeff DeBuys took turns driving the Independence on a five-day trip that returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing June 13. Sponsors Avet, Sav-On Tackle and West Coast Marketing put many prizes on the boat for big yellowtail, and the anglers responded by catching about all they needed.

“We fished at Cedros and Benitos,” said Pisano, “but not much offshore. We had very nice weather.”

A pair of dandy white seabass took the top two spots in the jackpot. The best one was a 41.4-pound caught by Sam Esposto of Burbank. Sam baited a mackerel on a 4/0 ringed Mutu hook and a dropper loop with a 16-ounce weight.

He said he fished with 60-pound P-Line and 80-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet Pro 30 reel and a Calstar 765 L rod.

David Taylor of Sav-on Tackle won second with the other white seabass, a 41-pounder. Dale Lethcoe of Sunland took third place for a 36-pound mossback yellowtail that clamped down on his Salas 5X jig in red, white and black.

Barry Brightenburg’s annual seven-day bassing/skiff trip aboard Qualifier 105 returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing June 13 with a good catch of yellowtail.

“Overall,” I’d say we had the best skiff trip in 10 years,” remarked Barry to dock reporter Bill Roecker, after posing with a heavy yellowtail.

“We had good weather, and yellowtail fishing good enough for the skiffs and great for the big boat. We spent a half-day at Sacramento Reef and hit it again on the way back. At Cedros Island it was nice enough to fish on the windward side with the skiffs.

“When we got back to Sac Reef fishing was good enough for many to get a personal best. Jim Edwards got a ten-pound bass, I got a 9-pound six-ouncer, and Alex Rentziperis of Dana Point got five over eight pounds.”

The trip’s big yellowtail was a 50.2-pound slug taken by Jerry Coble of Carlsbad.

“I got him on a green Candy Bar surface iron,” said Jerry. “I used 25-pound P-Line and 65-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Torium 16 reel and a nine-foot jigstick. It took about 15 minutes.

“I was cranking when I got a hit, but the fish got off. Then I got re-bit instantly. It was sick, man.”

Skipper Joe Crisci was excited about seeing a big spot of yellows come up on the other side of the Qualifier while his crew offloaded the skiffs at Augustine. The gulls tipped him off that something was going on, and the sight of birds on yellows at Cedros means the season there is on.

Some gigantic yellowtail arrived on the American Angler June 12 when skipper Brian Kiyohara docked the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing after an eight-day Catchy Tackle charter with 20 fishermen aboard. There was also a 100-pound tuna in the catch from Alijos Rocks.

“It was really nice to find 49 albacore on the way home,” said co-chartermaster John Grindley to dock reporter Bill Roecker.

“We all need to see those guys come up this way. We could see Guadalupe Island in the distance where we caught ‘em, about 200 miles down. The skipper saw two schools that looked good, the rest of the fish were scattered.

“The highlight was those monster yellowtail at Alijos Rocks,” continued Grindley. "We had a really good yellowfin bite, and the yellowtail were so thick that I released about 30 of them.

“It was a mixed bite on the flyline, with a few fish coming on the surface iron. When we got to the South End at Cedros Island the yellowtail were loaded up there, too, but we didn’t need those 15 to 18-pounders.”

Mondo Castro of Valencia won the jackpot for his 104.4-pound yellowfin tuna, a fish he said, “…kicked my butt, during the best action ever at Alijos.”

He said he baited a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad hook. He fished with 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Power Pro Spectra on an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 765 XL rod. He fought the beast for 30 minutes.

Bob Brozovic of Canton, OH won second place for the 2008-09 season’s best yellowtail yet, a 79.2-pound slug that sucked in a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad J hook. He fished with a 3/0 Mustad J hook on 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Izor Spectra on an Avet HX-2 reel and a Super Seeker 70 XH rod.

Bob posed for a nice shot of his huge Alijos mossback, with a little help from his wife Lora.

All three of the biggest yellowtail came on 40-pound line. Rick Sikes of Highland got a 65.8-pounder.

This year has seen one of the best starts ever for fishing on trips of four days or more, with good bites at Alijos Rocks, Cedros and the San Benitos islands. Halibut fishing has also been very good, and also has been excellent locally for anglers fishing aboard the Pt. Loma on ¾ day trips, with Captain Ron Baker targeting the species.

“Get off the dock,” advised skipper Kiyohara to all the anglers holding back on trips. “The fish are there; let’s go catch ‘em.”

“We finished off our trip today, wrote Red Rooster skipper Andy Cates June 10, “with another great day of fishing. We had a lot more action today on the smaller grade fish, from 60 to 80 pounds. That meant releasing fish throughout the day.

“We kept 22 tuna: 260, 250, 225 pounds, and the last fish of the day, caught by Mike Ashford (from Coarse Gold, CA), a 380-pounder. Like the big 324-pounder yesterday, this beast was tail-wrapped. Sure helps things out. What a great way to finish an epic trip. Most of the other fish were 120 to 180 pounds, very nice grade.

“The weather is still nice, lets hope it stays for another three days.”

The best news this morning for local anglers is that albacore are moving in to a large area south of San Diego. They’ve been caught by at least three boats from 120 to 220 miles south of Point Loma. They’re the right size, too, at 10 to 18 pounds or so. Smaller fish at first are thought to be the best indicator for a productive season.

Brian Sims docked Royal Star after a good three-day trip that produced albacore, big halibut and lots of yellowtail. The trip was the first annual R. J. Allen, Inc. charter, with 25 anglers aboard, and Sims brought his happy anglers back to Fisherman’s Landing about 8:30 in the morning.

“We found the albacore at 120 miles,” he said. “The water’s warming, at 65 degrees and the fish is moving up. Here it comes!

“You can drive around and see fish and get a bite. We got 34 albacore for seven stops. There were bait fish and troll fish. We got one on the cedar plug and the other troll fish on standard feathers in two sizes.”

Steve White of Placentia won first place for a 36-pound halibut. Jeff Persi of Corona tied with Craig Jones of Temecula for second place. Persi had a 25.5-pound yellowtail, and Jones had a halibut of the same weight.

R.D. Martinez of Placentia was the chartermaster. Mike Pitts of Corona posed with a typical albacore.

Early season albacore tend to behave in a manner much like the following description. They’re usually scattered over a wide area at first, and they may approach the boat quickly, but they usually don’t stay there eating sardines for very long. Anglers who are quick to get a hot bait into the water where the fish can see it are the anglers who get the most of these early longfin.

“We were running west in the morning,” wrote American Angler skipper Brian Kiyohara June 10, “with no known destination when we had a double jig strike on an up and down meter mark. After boxing the area we found that we were in close proximity to a half-degree edge. We found fish right in the transition and stayed busy most of the morning.

“We seldom went 20 minutes without seeing some sort of sonar or fathometer mark. We had one stop in particular where the albacore were right on the corner biting every bait for about a minute, as we hung the majority of the boat. It seemed like business as usual; the action was hot and heavy and the adrenaline and excitement pumped through everyone's veins.

“We ended up with 19 albacore and three bluefin out of that stop as the meter depicted the real deal. At around 11 in the morning the ocean changed right before our eyes in a matter of minutes as the edge melted and dissipated along with the fish. We ended up the day with 48 12 to 19-pound albacore and three 18 to 22-pound bluefin, and we were encouraged with the potential that we saw.

“What it comes down to is that the ocean is very big. It's one thing to look at a temp chart or a topographical chart and formulate a game plan, but it is totally different actually doing it. Without coverage (by many boats), it is a question of what ifs. Are the fish down or did they move? What is 10 miles to the north, south, east or west? It is next to impossible for one boat to figure it out. For Example, Mark on the Pacific Voyager had 23 fish scattered over a 22-mile area today. We both think that the offshore potential is here, already waiting to be exploited. His fish were all caught in premium day and a half range.

“One great note for our long range fleet is that today's sign at 210 miles from home is at the perfect spot for our multi day trips. The perfect distance from San Diego for a full first day's of fishing and an easy overnight run to our favorite island destinations. If we sound like a salesman you are right. First and foremost, we are fishermen because of our passion but because of the aforementioned reason of coverage, we need you to go fishing.

“John Grindley and Dave Zeman are pictured with the AA's first albacore of the year. Mike Nichols with the help of Cameron displays the year’s first bluefin.”

“Today we excellent surface iron action on the yellowtail,” remarked Shogun skipper Bruce Smith June 10. “The yellowfin tuna made their showing early in the a.m. and then all but disappeared by lunch time, but the yellows continued to bite throughout the day.

“Our plan from here is to fish tonight and tomorrow morning then take off for the albacore grounds. The long range fleet is excited about where the fish are showing. We are seeing albacore and bluefin in the lower latitudes, which makes us think that we could be in for a decent year instead of a flash in the pan, that has been going on the past couple of seasons.”

Yesterday we heard from Brian Sims that the Royal Star got 34 albacore. The boat will dock tomorrow morning at 8:30, said Tracy Toussaint, office manager. FishingVideos.com will have pictures and the story from anglers aboard.

Today word comes from Art Taylor of the Searcher that he spoke with Brian Kiyohara on American Angler. Brian was fishing at 220 miles and also got 34 albacore from 12 to 18 pounds, and also got three bluefin tuna of 18 to 22 pounds. Taylor, speaking to 976 TUNA, got the word that Royal Star was fishing much closer, at 120 miles.

“Our prospecting this morning turned up beautiful water conditions loaded with bait,” wrote Brian Sims, Royal Star skipper, on June 9.

“We looked for the entire morning with the feeling that a good school was just over the next swell. By lunch we came to the realization that our new area wasn't loaded up with fish yet. So in typical Royal Star fashion we went looking again.

“In the afternoon we got into another area where conditions looked very good. Thankfully this area was holding albacore. We managed 34 albacore for the afternoon with a few yellowtail in the mix. We are very encouraged by the sign we saw as bait fish were hooked every stop. These fish are starting to fill in and hopefully this will just keep getting better.”

“Good evening folks,” wrote skipper Andy Cates June 9. “Another nice day of fishing with six fish over 200 pounds and one fish caught by Paul Oster that taped at 324.

“Once again with most big fish on the kite with a couple on the fly line sardine. Brandon Hayward got a 260 on the sardine as well as Art Green, who got a 270, sardine fish. With one day left, we are hoping things continue and we finish off with more chances at big fish.”

“We departed today at 09:05 hours on our Shimano sponsored seven-day trip,” wrote owner-skipper Frank LoPreste June 9. “I must say that for the crew and myself it is wonderful to be freed from the 12+ hours days of doing maintenance. We did get most of our work done and the boat looks great and appears to be running beautifully.

“We picked up an excellent load of bait and cleared Point Loma at 11:15 hours, headed for Alijos rocks. The Shimano reps passed out hats to all today and raffled off a Trinidad 16 with a butterfly jigging rod. The lucky number was 13, held by John Ma. Shimano has supplied the Royal Polaris with a large number of Tyrnos 30's, Trinidad 30's, and Trinidad 40's complete with rods. Our passengers will have the opportunity to borrow these reels and field test them before making a decision as to whether to purchase. There will also be daily prizes awarded each day thru the trip.

“Some of you might want to note that the Royal Polaris has 2 three-day trips, leaving June 26th and July1st at $695.00 each. With the Royal Star catching 34 Albacore in a few hours today it seems likely that the 3 day trips in late June and early July will provide some excellent Albacore fishing. Call our office at (619) 226-8030 for information or reservations.”

The bigger model yellowtail bit for us early in the morning from about 04:00 till after sun-up,” noted Shogun skipper Bruce Smith June 9. “Then we picked up the anchor and made our way back to the rocks proper where we picked away at tuna and yellowtail throughout the day.

“Most of the tuna being on the smaller side 12 to 25 pounds with a few handfuls in that 40-pound bracket. One highlight for us was at snack time. Randy, Pat and Norman put together fresh whitefish nuggets and a pile of deep fried market squid. A little bit of tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, lemon wedge and a shot of Tabasco turned it to a little slice of heaven.”

“We woke up in the morning,” wrote American Angler captain Brian Kiyohara June 8, “to the nicest weather that we have had since we got to the stones. The current was a little different direction but still plenty good. We started picking at the fish right away and it stayed like that until we took off after lunch. Instead of the hectic wide-open fishing, we had one to four hookups at a time.

“We kept waiting for the big attack but it never happened. We caught some nice grade tuna and a few nicer grade yellows but it was a little touchier then the day before. With great appreciation for the conditions provided to us the last three days, we are starting our adventure northbound.

“With nice weather, we started the fishing off at Sacramento reef,” said the Qualifier 105 report June 8. “Now if you have never fished there the bass fishing is one of the best places to calico fish. The fish are huge and there are lots of them. We had a few eight-pound-plus fish and lots of six and seven-pounders. The average total was about 30 to 50 fish per angler today!

“Janet Ashia had a seven and a half-pound bass. John Ballotti, who is an L.A. rod and reel club member set a club record for six-pound test line with a five-pound, 13 oz. calico bass, nice!

“We have a few first-time skiff fisherman with us. They all found out how fun it can be and all got some nice fish. We departed about six pm and are on course for the south end of Cedros with an eta of about six am. If the fish are cooperative, we are in for some fantastic fishing. We will let you know how it goes tomorrow.”

“Good evening folks,” wrote Andy Cates June 8. “Today brought even better results than yesterday with the overall grade much bigger. After about 2:30 in the afternoon we went pretty dead but up until then we had some great kite and balloon action. Almost all the fish were taken on the Flying Fish with the exception of a few sardine fish.

“We caught 32 tuna from 120 pounds on up to 312 pounds. There were 11 fish over 200 pounds and one fish caught by Lynn Freed that taped at 312 pounds! A fantastic day and we are looking forward till tomorrow.”

“Today went well,” wrote skipper Bruce Smith. “We didn't find the action we had hoped for, but we have good sign here at the rocks. The yellowfin are anywhere from 12 pounds to 50 and the yellows are ranging from throwbacks on upwards of 30 pounds.

“Our weather is good with only 12 knots of breeze out of the northwest and not much swell. Tonight (right now) we are headed out to the bank to try for some of the big homeboys that live out there.”

A friend gave me a piece of fresh Ahi processed by Mario Ghio of Sportman’s Seafoods a few days ago. It was a fillet of a pound or two, the sort most people ask for when they have their fish processed, and that fillet was prime, never frozen, fresh from the refrigerated seawater hold of a recently-returned long range boat.

I cooked it on a covered barbeque after soaking the fillet, cut into four 1 ½-inch steaks, in Consorzio Mango fat-free dressing for 20 minutes. I cooked it for about six minutes on a side, which left the fish tender, not over-cooked.

My wife Debbie served it to three of us with fresh-frozen young peas and brown rice. It was the best fish dinner I’ve had for many months, so I’m passing the news on to anyone who likes to eat tuna. I can’t wait to do it again. The mango dressing came from Albertson’s, so it can’t be hard to find.

Linda Palm-Halpain, owner of the Red Rooster III, told Bill Roecker she’d heard Monday afternoon from skipper Andy Cates, who is fishing off Clarion Island. Andy said his anglers have limits of wahoo, and are in a big tuna bite that has already produced ten fish over 200 pounds. One is over 300 pounds.

The Rooster is on her annual “June Heat” trip, and WON saltwater editor Brandon Hayward is aboard. If the big tuna makes the 300-pound mark on the certified scales at H&M Landing when the boat returns, it will be the 50th giant yellowfin of the season, unprecedented in the last couple of decades.

Red Rooster III will dock at H&M next Sunday morning, June14, after the last trip of the 2008-09 big tuna season for the San Diego long range fleet.

Making hooks since 1877, O. Mustad & Sons (O. stands for Ole) was founded in 1832 as a wire maker under another name, I learned in a long conversation with Mustad US exec. Steve Tagami of Auburn, NY. Tagami is visiting in the LA area, and he’s a southern California boy raised in fishing.

“Mustad is the only hook manufacturer that draws its own wire,” Tagami told me. “The reason they seldom if ever break are because of our manufacturing process. We use a slower drawing process in manufacturing the wire. We use special alloys, and a tempering process that yields maximum strength from our wire.

“All the wire is made in Norway,” continued Steve, “and we’ll be releasing some brand new circle hooks at ICAST. We were the first to bring circle hooks, to commercial fishing back in the 60’s. In the 70’s we brought them here to the US.

“These will be the latest design in circles, modified through years of research and development. They have the right shape, the right wire and the right strength. We talked with many of the San Diego skippers in coming to these, consulting Roy Rose, John Grabowski, Randy Toussaint and Justin Fleck, among others. Ken Circks tested our prototypes and had excellent results.

“The new hooks have proportional sizing, which starts with the wire. That means the gaps and shapes will be the same with 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4x hooks. They’ve all been redesigned for strength, consistency and holding power.”

Shown here are Mustad's 39960D 16/0 commercial Circle and the new 39942BLN 3X Strong circle hooks in 8/0 and 6/0.

“Today's conditions in the morning were just about as good as it gets,” wrote American Angler owner-skipper Brian Kiyohara Sunday, June 7.

“One could pat himself on the back and say he found them but when it comes down to the rocks, you are only as good as the conditions provided. We took advantage of the perfect current conditions right from the get go. We stayed busy all morning with the fish biting so well at times it seemed like we could hook them 'at will'. We had a pretty even mix on yellows and tuna with both species going 15 to 50 pounds on the average.

“Several of our regulars said that this was about as good as they have ever seen. It seems in our fishing careers we see the standout fish caught in only the premium fishing condition.

“I once saw Taka's group on the New Hustler get four calicos over 10 pounds at the first boiler at Clemente in perfect uphill conditions. Everything such as water temp, clarity, current, wind, bait and I'm sure many other unforeseen variables came into play to make that epic day of bass fishing happen. We had the same today because in the mix of fish were some unbelievable catches.

“Planet landed a 78-pound yellow, Bob Brozovic caught a 75-pounder and good karma nice guy Rick Sykes got one in the high 60's. These fish were truly special and every time we see these we are simply awestruck. We had many other 30 to 45-pounders and had some nice grade tuna.”

There’s been no contact with the mother lode yet, but a pair of boats operating from Seaforth Landing found some albacore over the weekend. The Voyager, fishing on a day and a half trip, caught nine albacore.

The Pacific Voyager was on a two-day trip, came back last night with ten albacore. The boat was fishing about 130 miles south, according to landing spokesman Colin.

Owner-skipper Randy Toussaint docked his Royal Star June 6 after an eight-day trip to Alijos Rocks and Cedros Island. The boat arrived at Fisherman’s Landing just before eight o’clock and 24 anglers stepped off, happy with the trip and the weather.

Steve Nishi of LA won first place in the jackpot for a 69-pound yellowfin tuna. He said it fought him for a half-hour after it ate his sardine on a 5/0 Eagle Claw hook. He fished with 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Izorline Spectra on an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

John Pasmakian of Glendale won second place for a 61-pound tuna, and Jim Ruch of Ojai won third place for a 55-pound tuna he bagged on 20-pound line. Their fish weren’t available for pictures, so they borrowed a pair from other anglers on the trip. John Stuemke of Ocean Beach stood in with the winners holding his honorable mention 78-pound yellowfin.

Joe Crisci docked the Qualifier 105 early Saturday morning, June 6 after an eight-day Big Hammer trip with 15 skiff and kayak anglers. They found very good fishing for bass and yellowtail at the South End of Cedros Island.

There was no jackpot on the trip. Brad Schnair of LA, owner of High Tide Sportfishing, posed with a 33-pound yellowtail he got on one of his new jigs in what he called “bacon and Eggs” color.

Schnair said it was a five-minute fish. He used 30-pound Izorline XXX line on a 338 Newell reel and a Calstar 90 J rod.

“We had excellent fishing at Cedros,” he said. “The water was light green and 62 degrees.”

“Hey Bill, I was just wondering if 40-pound line is able to put some good pressure on yellowfin up to 80 or so pounds and for dropper looping at Alijos. Some say 60-pound, some say 80 and some say 100. I was just hoping I could get your 2 cents. Thanks,” Alec Robbie, Trabuco Canyon (by email June 5, 2009)

Bill’s Reply:

Alec, my take on tuna fishing is that it’s a sport. That means giving the quarry a sporting chance, “fair chase” as some would put it. You know from your 33-pound bluefin on 20-pound line that you can catch a tuna that’s well over (some would say triple or more) the weight of your line’s breaking strength with the right drag pressure and the short-stroke technique.

I seldom use heavier than 40-pound on tuna of less than 80 pounds. If they’re 100-pounders, I move up to 50-pound line. You could do it with lighter or heavier line, of course. All this is up to the angler, and his or her level of comfort. Lighter line draws more bites, don’t you think? And it’s much easier to handle and to feel your bait. Fluorocarbon leader is better than a good idea.

For general tuna bait fishing, I’d go even lighter with albacore, and use the above formula on bluefin, yellowfin and bigeye. I think you can catch any albacore on 20 or 25-pound line. My best is 45 pounds on 20-pound line.

Tuna: Let ‘em run until they turn and sound, then keep the pressure on, keep ‘em coming up, and move the drag up a little bit when they’re close to the boat. No use sniveling when one breaks or bites off—these fish exist in the millions. There’s plenty more. Most experienced tuna anglers wouldn’t be proud of a 40-pound tuna on 50-pound line, though that combo might be OK for a rookie’s first few fish.

There’s more argument for heavy line when dropper-looping. Still, 60-pound line with 25 pounds of drag ought to work on most yellowtail. The only tricky part is keeping them out of the rocks where they live, for the first few seconds. The same is true of dog snapper. I think success comes from technique and quickness, more than super-heavy line, but circumstances may dictate what’s needed. Try it both ways yourself, and let me know what you find.

Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates evening report for June 5 read: "We just left the Bank after an epic morning of wahoo fishing and great action that provided everyone with lots of chances. Unfortunately we saw very little if any sign of tuna. One little time frame where some 50 to 75 pounders jumped around and boiled on a few baits and that was all.

"No sign of better fish and we never caught one or even hooked one. Good thing for the wahoo."

"Good morning folks," reported Cates early morning June 5.

"We left the Island yesterday afternoon after a day and a half of looking but not much catching. The sign was good enough, but the amount of krill in the water kept the fish from biting the sardine.

"Going out to the (Hurricane) Bank is the next move and we will be there in two hours. With no boats being at the Bank, a chance for wahoo seems likely. The big lure is a chance for trophy tuna. Hopefully we have something to work with."

Clarion Full Of Sharks, Krill

The June 4 report read: "It has been a bit rough here catching yellowfin tuna, we luckily found one spot of tuna between 80-100 pounds, but it's been hard to catch anything.

"Caught one at 120 pounds, but unfortunately the sharks have been bad and there’s been a lot of krill.

"We’ll head towards Hurricane Bank this afternoon, and hope for the best there."

“We were in the water by 6 a.m. yesterday,” wrote Qualifier 105 skipper Joe Crisci June 5, “in the skiffs and the kayaks. Most of the kayak guys went into some thick kelp and had very good calico bass fishing. The fish were big fat fish, a lot over five pounds. Cal went to a big boiler rock and also got some big ones. Tim and Allen went into a small bay and had great fishing. They were hitting everything, swim bait, slugs and even spinner baits.

“The big boat did a tour of the island for a few yellows and also some bass fishing. The wind came up in the afternoon and it got a little snotty. We moved back to the other spot for tomorrow, wish us luck. Q105 crew out!”

Brian Kiyohara docked American Angler June 4 after an eight-day Sport Chalet Charter to Alijos Rocks and Benitos/Cedros. He tied the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing and weighed the best fish.

“Historically The Rocks are good fishing in April and May,” remarked the skipper at the scales. “Right now the temperature is 66 degrees. Fishing for yellowfin and yellowtail was great for us. Fishing for yellowtail at the islands was excellent.”

Passengers said the weather matched the fishing. One angler said he could leave a cup of coffee on the table anytime and not worry about spillage. Anglers also said fishing for yellowtail with surface iron was very good.

Only one jackpot place was given, and it went to Fermin Diaz of Pomona, for a 56.4-pound yellowfin tuna.

“He made a nice boil,” said Diaz, who baited a sardine on a 4/0 Hayabusa hook to fool his tuna. He said he used 40-pound Triple Fish fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound P-Line and 65-pound Spectra on an 870 Accurate reel and a seven-foot Graftech rod rated for 30 to 40 pounds.

He was joined in the lineup by anglers who had the two biggest yellowtail. Bill Kuehl of Escondido found a 52.6-pound yellow with a Salas 6X Jr. jig in blue and white, and Jim Bostian, Crystal Pier owner, got a 50.2-pounder with a mint green Candy Bar surface iron.

“Slow fishing here at Cedros today," reported Royal Star June 3, "but the change of scenery combined with beautiful weather made for a nice day. We did manage to get one good drift for 20 30 to 35-pound yellows that put on a good surface show, which gives us hope for tomorrow. We are giving this one more day before continuing our northern trek.”

“Well I told you if today was half as good as yesterday,” wrote skipper Joe Crisci June 3, “we would be happy. Well, we are very happy. This morning we woke to flat calm seas and just a little wind. We pointed it to a big spot of birds and it was game on! Everybody on the skiffs got yellows, big ones. We had a couple of 50-plus pounders! Pete Wolf of Big Hammer had a nine-pound calico bass; his best ever! Then he had a yellow that was also was his best ever at 53 pounds.

“Rob Bellini got his first ever white sea bass, and he is very happy to say the least. Our kayak people had some wide-open calico fishing for most of the day. Also today, two crew members had 50-plus pound yellows! If you want some FUN fishing, these skiff trips are all about it, not to mention some fish to take home. We will be here again tomorrow, so till then Q105 crew is out.”

“Coast Guard inspections so we are ready to go fishing!” wrote owner-skipper Tom Rothery June 1.

"Memorial Day weekend started off the season with the first albacore being caught (since January) and a couple of bluefin also. That has all of us on the boat excited as well as most of you. Water conditions look spectacular for the season and we hope to have some water charts on the web site soon for you to view. We are also pleased to pass on the fact that the Guadalupe permits have been granted for the next two years. I know a lot of you are looking forward to fishing there. We have our schedule on line for you to look at. Prices are the same as last year and as of right now there is no fuel surcharge. So let's hope the cost stays down.

“We have two new 1 1/2 day trips that we added on and we still have some openings on some of the 4 and 5-day trips this summer. Give Susan a call and she can check dates and availability for you or your group. 619-390-7890. And one more thing, tune in to Let's Talk Hook-up June 13th, Saturday morning (7-9 am) and yours truly will be on with Pete Gray. It's always a good time and I hope you will call in with your questions. But you can also call me any time in the office.”

“On behalf of the same old crew and myself, thanks for checking in and I hope you can get out and fish with us this year.”

“A bit slower today but still decent scratching for 27 tuna and 50 yellows," reported the Royal Star June 2. "With the bite waning we opted to start working up and are presently heading for Cedros in good weather. We will arrive around noon tomorrow and hope to spend the next two days fishing those big yellows in the lee of the island.”

June 7 Event will Launch 10 Vision-Impaired Youth on an Angling Adventure

Carson, CA -- On June 7, 2009, Rice Bowl Charters of Carson, California, and Islander Charters of San Diego, California, are teaming up to host a half-day sport fishing trip for 10 vision-impaired kids and their families from the San Diego Braille Institute. Christened the “Imagine Trip,” it will be a truly incredible event for everyone involved.

“As I began planning this event, I could only imagine what it would be like to go sport fishing as a visually-impaired youth,” said Fred Morioka, president of Rice Bowl Charters and the trip organizer.

“The salty smell of the ocean water, the mingling sounds of the boat engine and the seagulls and sea lions and finally, the feeling of that deep-sea rod in your hands and the amazing moment when you hook a fish and experience the challenge of the catch. Trying to imagine what would go through the minds of these kids inspired not just the name, but the complete tone of the event. We want to give them an experience that’s both unforgettable and unique to the culture of San Diego.”

The Imagine sportfishing trip kicks off at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast for the San Diego Braille Institute youth and their families at Hudson Bay Seafood Restaurant at 1403 Scott Street in San Diego. At 9 a.m. sharp, the Imagine Trip launches from adjacent Fisherman’s Landing at 2838 Garrison Street. On board Islander Charters’ deluxe 88-foot-by-24-foot boat, the kids will learn the aspects of angling from Islander’s superb sport fishing crew and enjoy a delicious catered lunch organized by Rice Bowl Charters. The boat is scheduled to return to port at 4 p.m. after an exciting day filled with fishing fun and aquatic adventure.

"Another day of travel with a tuna seminar being the highlight. It looks like the sardines are starting to look better, I was a little concerned ysterday but now it settled in. The weather is great, nice and warm with 68 degree water below the Rocks. Tonight we will try for squid, with no sign last night we are hoping the warmer water will bring us a haul. Right now I have us headed to Clarion Island, mostly due to timing as we can casually make stops for bait on the way down and still be in there early in the morning.

"One more day of travel and a wahoo seminar and then an eight-day grind of, hopefully, explosive action."

May 31 report read: "Accurate sponsored trips have features that include 45 different top of the line outfits for guys to use. Anything from 80's to the Boss series reels. Calstar and Seeker provide the rods to complete the second-to-none outfits. Daily jackpots for biggest fish or first fish of the day make for a little added excitement throughout the trip. Thanks Leo, Jack and should I mention Del Marsh--Oh boy! for the support on the Accurate sponsored trips."

“A bit slower today," reported Royal Star June 1, "but still a nice steady scratch that accounted for 90 yellows to 42 pounds and 25 tuna from 20 to 75 pounds. It was fun angling with plenty of visual stimulation in the form of boiling tuna and yellows, which made it easy to stay at the rail.

"We are going to give this another day and depending on the tuna bite, either spend the night again or start working up to Cedros.”

“We got it handed to us coming up the line," reported American Angler June 1.

"We had 15-18 knots of wind as we endured wet windows and a bouncy ride most of the night. We got up to the yellowtail grounds and saw pretty good sign of fish. Being that we are in a "shi shi" type position, we bypassed the school sized 15-22 pound fish. We had incredible shows in some of our honey holes in the afternoon. We had seal sized boils all around the boat as we caught a half a dozen fish from 35-52 pounds. Uncle Bill Kuehl got the biggest, but the others were also shallow water surface iron beauties.

"We also experienced everyone having one on sonar school fishing on 25-35 pound fish that was also a show to remember. The father-son team of Jordan and Mario Souza show off the benefits of the mint swirl Salas 7x and the group shows part of the results of a hectic bite.”

“Hello, I was hoping you could provide me with some advice based on your expertise. I'm interested in one of the long range Tuna trips. I'm looking to take my 80-year-old father. We're more interested in having a good time than being in a…mess. I thought that the fly down and fly back trips were most interesting, in that you get to fish the most productive grounds. And you miss the days coming back. I would really appreciate hearing back from you. Thank you for your time.” (Name withheld by request: email May 29, 2009)

There are a very few of these trips with a fly down or fly back option--or both. Ask the boats you're looking at.

When catching is very good, tuna fishing is a bit bloody.

Long range boats leave and return sparkling clean, thanks to the crew, who also clean up several times a day on deck and in the galley.

Your father is a bit old to be pulling on 200-pound tuna, though you could help him. If his health isn't good, I'd advise against him yanking on "cow" tuna.

If you fish on a five to eight-day trip the fish will be smaller--say 10 to 100 pounds.

Virtually all the boats doing these longer trips are good boats--the makeup of the passengers can't be determined until sailing time draws near. Let me just say that bad trips (because of poor fishing or unruly passengers) are a rarity. Just remember that the captain knows how and where to find fish, but he can't make them bite. He is a topnotch guide, however.

The crews of long range boats are a cut above those on dayboats. They are excellent at working with beginners and younger or older anglers. You can count on getting some good help, especially if you talk to the skipper or the second skipper about your particular desires.

Talk to them and the chefs will take care of your special dietary needs, if any.

Alijos Rocks has emerged as the season’s first hot spot for yellowfin tuna. The Independence trip that visited there first came away with limits of tuna and yellowtail, in some of the finest spring fishing in memory. In the past couple of days the Royal Star and the American Angler are trying their luck at the Rocks, with good success. Reports of good fishing potential at Benitos/Cedros are also great news. This season looks like a good one, just cranking up. Now, if we can just get on those elusive albacore…

Royal Star Arrives At Alijos Rocks

“We got our anchor down here at the rocks at 11:30 this morning" reported Royal Star May 31, "and immediately got in the game with one to six fish going until late afternoon. Our final tally was 100 yellows from 15 to 40 pounds and 26 tuna from 30 to 60 pounds, a great way to start the trip. We saw much better sign of tuna than the score indicates so hopefully we get a better shot at them in the next few days. We are going to sit tight tonight and hope for another good day tomorrow.”

“The guys here want you pink poodles from S.D. Fire that didn't make the trip to know they're having a great time.”

“We started out fishing another night bite honey hole and got a handful of yellows at daylight," read the American Angler report May 31. "Right away we could tell that most everyone had plenty of yellows to take home and utilize. Even though we are well within our limits, we are not the type to keep killing them if you don't need them. We had good conditions everywhere we went, but could not get away from the yellows (what a great problem to have). By not being able to sit in one of the alpha current spots, it made it tough to wait out the tuna.

“Overall there was less sign of tuna but we all know how that changes day to day. We started traveling up in the afternoon planning out the backside of our trip. Alijos Rocks was very generous to us and we are thankful for the weather and the opportunity. Our Uncle Bill Kuehl proudly displays a nice yellow that made the mistake of eating a properly presented metal fish-fooling device.”

The American Angler's May 30 report read: “We had a couple of guys start the day off early getting a handful of yellows beginning about four thirty in the morning. After daylight we adjusted for the current and had beautiful fishing conditions. We saw sign of tuna right away but didn't hook many in the morning because of the yellows. The yellows from 18-30 pounds were biting full speed. It was almost hook at will whether it was fly lining, plugging or yo-yoing. The tuna fishing was tougher today as there was less sign. We didn't really start hooking them until we repositioned in the afternoon. We had wind against current, which made it real tough to fish. It was frustrating as baits would head back under the boat - but worth it if you hooked one.

“We ended up with 43 tuna and lots of yellows as everyone was beat tired by the end of the day.”